Heart Bound
by 10Blue10
Summary: (Book One) A quest goes horribly wrong, and Hiccup is nearly killed. Toothless saves his life, and in doing so changes both their lives forever. The duo escape a cruel fate, but it's a case of out of the frying pan, into the fire. They are found by none other than members of Toothless' former pack, and now Hiccup must prove himself to the distrusting, human hostile dragons.
1. A Promising Rumour

Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD

A/N: Greetings, one and all! Welcome to the first instalment in the 'Heart Bind Saga'. I was inspired to write this story after reading 'Dragonheart' by words-with-dragons. I really liked the concept of Hiccup and Toothless having a life bond and decided to write my own take on the idea. They already gave me permission to use elements of their story and publish this one, but I recommend reading their story too! Just bear in mind that it's incomplete, and hasn't updated in a while. Keeping up with stories can be hard when real life gets in the way (boo!).

I want to be clear – this is not a Toothless x Hiccup slash fic, for one simple reason – they are different species. If you want to read it like that for your own personal enjoyment then go ahead, I'm not here to tell you who to ship, but this is not that kind of story, even if it seems that way at times. The Ancient Greeks had four words for four different kinds of love, and the one that best describes Hiccup and Toothless' relationship is a combination of Philia – affectionate and loyal but wholly platonic friendship – and Agape – unconditional love.

Also, as a treat, at the start of each chapter I'm going to recommend a Hiccup & Toothless friendship song (suggestions welcome!). The theme song for this story is 'Something Wild' by Lindsey Stirling and Andrew McMahon. The song for this chapter is 'In My Eyes' by The Afters. Think of it as Toothless' POV of Hiccup, the lyrics match up with their bond so well it's uncanny :)

So without further ado, I give you…

 _HEART BOUND_

Chapter One – A Promising Rumour

A streamlined creature shot like an arrow towards the distant horizon. He skimmed along the currents of the air, his jet black wings outstretched to their fullest to catch every little eddy. A vista of fluffy clouds stretched out as far as the eye could see….yet the dragon's sharp green eyes quickly picked out a sliver of blue in the expanse of white, tinged yellow by the rays of the sun.

Crouched on its back, a human rider clicked the stirrup turned pedal, adjusting the prosthetic left tail fin. The dragon arched his back, his rider holding tight as they went up and over in a tight loop de loop. They plunged through the pool of sky towards the ocean far below; at almost the last minute, the dragon flung his wings out to catch the air again, and they sped over the rolling waves with a roar and holler of triumph.

A grin was plastered on the dragon rider's face as they glided at speed across the water, their hearts racing a mile a minute. He and his Night Fury flew on, and Hiccup reflected on the events that had led them there…the events that would change their lives.

* * *

A biting wind whistled through the nooks and crannies of Berk; the outcrops of rock and the ramshackle houses alike. Almost all of the houses were empty, however; the islands population was gathered at the docks; a familiar, well-worn vessel had been spotted approaching the island.

The chief of Berk, Stoick the Vast, stood on the pier awaiting Johann's arrival. His ship was sailing swiftly towards Berk, the wind behind the sail billowing it out to its fullest. "I've never known Johann to travel here so quickly" Stoick remarked to Gobber, his best friend and the village blacksmith, "He's a day early!"

"Aye, it is odd" Gobber nodded, gingerly scratching at his chin with the tip of his hook, "You think something might be wrong?"

"We'll soon find out" replied Stoick. Johann's ship sailed into harbour; even though he'd brought the sail in and turned the ship about to slow himself down, the side of the boat still hit the pier. The garrulous merchant barely seemed to notice the jolt, or his wares being knocked about; he had his gangplank out and was on the pier as soon as he could.

The villagers flocked to meet him; Stoick and Gobber reached him first, naturally. "Trader Johann, what's the matter?" the chief demanded; Johann held up a hand, getting his breath back. The jolt had in fact knocked the wind out of him somewhat.

"Ah, Stoick" he greeted with a respectful nod, "My apologies for the unexpected arrival, but I simply couldn't wait to reach Berk. Where is master Hiccup?"

"Hiccup?" Gobber exclaimed in surprise, "You rushed all this way for Hiccup?" He chuckled, not harshly, and remarked, "You'd have better luck searching anywhere else in the archipegalo; the boy's hardly ever here as it is!"

Johann looked somewhat dismayed. "You mean he's not here? I don't suppose you know when he'll be back?" he asked hopefully.

Stoick looked behind him; a lot of the other villagers had caught up to them, including Astrid. "I don't know where Hiccup is, Johann" he admitted, "But I'm sure he hasn't gone far". He better not have; Stoick would have to have a serious talk with his son about Hiccup's irresponsible tendency to fly off to Thor knew where. He'd always been a wanderer, ever since he was little…first it was searching for trolls, now it was new lands and dragons.

"What's going on?" Astrid asked curiously, having overheard the chief mention Hiccup's mind. It had only taken about four years, but she finally felt comfortable admitting that she liked Hiccup – loved him, really. There were many things she loved about him, and his adventurous spirit was one of them, but she could admit that it was a tad inconvenient at times.

"Johann here is in a hurry to see your man, Astrid" Gobber informed her, "Any idea where he's rushed off too this time?"

"You know what he's like. He's probably out flying Toothless. How come you want to see him so badly, anyway?" she asked Johann.

"I have it on good authority that something has happened, which master Hiccup simply must hear about. I believe it will be of great interest to him" the aging trader explained.

Astrid nodded, and replied "I can find him. Just let me find Stormfly" she said, pushing through the crowd in search of her Deadly Nadder. They'd discovered that Nadders had tracking abilities, much like rumblehorns, which explained why Astrid and Stormfly almost always won their games of dragon hide and seek. At least, she'd been winning them until Snotlout, fed up with losing, had immaturely refused to play the game anymore. In an effort to keep the peace between them all, Hiccup had suggested they stop playing and find something else to do.

When she'd got back up to the village, pausing every so often to call Stormfly, both by her name and dragon-call, Astrid was starting to wonder if her Nadder had flown off to the edge of the world as well…then said Nadder alighted with a squawk in front of her, and she smiled in relief. "Stormfly!" she grinned, reaching up to pet the dragon's snout, "There you are. Come on, we need to find Hiccup and Toothless" she explained, pulling herself up into the saddle. She trusted that her dragon recognised the command 'find', and their friends' names.

Stormfly gave herself a shake and took to the air. She'd rather have rested for a bit, but Astrid sounded urgent; she wondered what was so important. Her nostrils flared, trying to pick out the lingering scents of a certain Night Fury and his loyal rider. There were so many scents in the air, but as they climbed up away from the haze of scents from the village, Stormfly's keen draconic sense of smell picked up the right scent, and she headed towards the north-east.

* * *

Not far away, a black dragon was sprawled on the top of a sea stack, eyes closed and dozing. Hiccup was resting as well; they'd been flying since the early hours of the morning, pausing only to grab a quick breakfast, and they'd decided to have a break for half an hour or so. It was peaceful away from the hustle of the village…out here there was no-one to bother him. No overbearing father to pressure him into reluctant chieftain lessons, no twins and Snotlout to pester him with immature pranks…it was just him and Toothless, as it should be.

Toothless' ear-fins perked up at the sound of a familiar, squawking roar. He looked over his shoulder and saw Stormfly coming in for a landing on the other side of the large sea stack. Hiccup was already getting to his feet. "Hello, milady" he grinned at Astrid; he'd been feeling pestered by just about everyone lately, apart from his dragon and his girlfriend.

Astrid dismounted and walked over to him; without warning, she gave his shoulder a light punch – light for her, anyway, and said "That's for always flying off". Then she kissed his cheek; meanwhile, Stormfly and Toothless were greeting each other, jerking their heads up in a gesture that for dragons meant _we're friends_ , and for a human would be the equivalent of a handshake or high five.

"What was that for?" Hiccup asked about the kiss, not that he was complaining.

"No reason" Astrid shrugged with a smile, "Trader Johann wants to see you."

Hiccup blinked in bewilderment. "Johann? He's not due to arrive for another day."

*Johann? The man who won't shut up? Oh no* Toothless groaned in annoyance. Stormfly let out a chittering laugh and remarked, *Sorry, Toothless. You'll just have to ignore him.*

Their riders paid the dragons no mind. "He's here early, he just came into port. He said something's happened that you need to hear about, said it would interest you" explained Astrid. Hiccup was slightly dubious about this claim; the last time Johann had wanted to tell him something important, he'd ended up getting stuck listening to the man ramble on about a man-eating tribe in Papua New Guinea. Still, if Johann thought this was so important, that he'd sailed to Berk a day ahead of schedule…

"Lead the way" he said; they walked over to their dragons and got into the saddles, taking off and heading back towards Berk. When they arrived, Johann was no longer at the docks; he'd moved to the great hall. When Hiccup, Toothless and Astrid walked in, he was drinking mead from a large mug and regaling Stoick, Gobber and the rest of the dragon trainers with some far-fetched tale or other. None of them were actually interested, with the possible exception of Gobber, but were pretending to listen politely.

There were more than a few sighs of relief when Johann noticed Hiccup. "Ah, master Hiccup!" he exclaimed with a wide grin, "So good to see you again!"

"Yeah, you too, Johann" Hiccup answered. Toothless gave a dismissive snort, his eyes lidded, and retorted *No it isn't.*

"Astrid said you had something to tell me?"

"Oh, yes, of course! Have a seat" Johann insisted. When Hiccup and Astrid had sat down – holding hands under the table – Johann began his story. "I heard about this from the chief of the Shivering Shores, and he heard it from one of his villagers whose second cousin is a fisherman on the vessel that picked up the poor soul that the whole mess happened to. It was the talk of their village; I daresay it'll be the talk of yours when we're finished!"

"Sooner the better" Snotlout muttered snarkily; not under his breath enough to be unheard.

*We actually agree on something* said Toothless. Of course he knew that none of them could understand him, humans couldn't hear a dragon think-speaking, but it was fun to talk around them without them having a clue what he was saying.

Johann frowned, but ignored the interruption and continued, "I daresay you've heard tell of Myrkr; the land of darkness. Two week's sail to the west of Berk, it is a land cloaked in forests, mountains, ice…. and mystery. For decades, no man has ventured onto its shores, because those who dared to do so _never_ came back. Until now…a fortnight ago, a fishing ship was sailing south along the coast of Myrkr. They kept their distance, but on this fateful night, a storm swept them closer to the shore.

"Picture it, if you will; the crashing waves, the roaring wind, Thor tearing apart the sky with his lightning – and out of nowhere, a blast of flame!" Johann exclaimed, gesticulating wildly, "And then another! Brave men tossed overboard or burned in a vicious attack by wild dragons. Ooh, it makes me shudder just to think of it. I'm very glad _your_ dragons are nothing like these monsters" he claimed.

Hiccup frowned and protested, "Dragons aren't monsters; and they don't attack ships for no reason. Maybe they mistook the sailors for hunters, or they were trying to scare the sailors out of their territory or something" he reasoned.

"That might indeed be so, master Hiccup" Johann acknowledged, "Odin knows I haven't forgotten that harrowing time I was harassed by wild dragons…but this was _different,_ you see. These dragons weren't just harassing the sailors, they were _aiming_ for them, trying to kill them."

"Why would they do that?" Astrid frowned; it didn't make sense. Dragons wouldn't just attack people for no reason; there had to be a rational explanation.

Fishlegs asked, "Johann, is there anything you can tell us about what kind of dragons did this?"

"Yeah, and how do you know all this, exactly?" Snotlout asked rather mockingly, "Were you there?"

Johann glared at him – in a manner of speaking – and replied, "No, thank Odin. If I may continue; almost all of those poor souls lost their lives that night, but one. Call it providence or sheer luck or a gift from the gods, but one sailor managed to cling to a piece of wreckage and was swept out to sea. He saw the dragons silhouettes shooting up into the sky, just a glimpse of them in the light of the flames. Pitch black, bat like wings, swift and deadly as lightning, with roars to send such a shiver down your spine!"

The other Vikings looked at one another. Fishlegs frowned in bewilderment, and remarked, "Black, bat like wings? But…that sort of sounds like…"

"Indeed, master Fishlegs" Johann nodded eagerly, "The sailor was swept up in the net of another ship; it's a miracle the man survived, and the only two words he said when they asked him what had happened were…" He paused for dramatic effect, "Night Furies."

Toothless, who had dropped his head onto his forepaws out of boredom, raised his head at those words, his ear-fins perked up in surprise. Hiccup's jaw dropped, as did the others. "You…you think the dragons who attacked that ship were Night Furies?" he asked Johann, feeling his heart beat pick up. Could this be the chance he'd been waiting for? The chance to find more Night Furies, so Toothless would have some of his own race for company…he waited anxiously and impatiently for Johann's answer.

"That's what the surviving sailor kept saying" Johann claimed, "But the men who found him thought him mad, and perhaps he was. After all, no Night Furies but yours have been seen for centuries…still, it does make for quite the gripping yarn, doesn't it?" He grinned cheerfully, and remarked, "I knew you'd like hearing it, master Hiccup. One never knows what's out there! You hear that, Toothless, old boy? You might not be the last Night Fury after all!" Johann added, smiling at Toothless.

The Night Fury gave him a rather unimpressed look and retorted, somewhat pointlessly, *Don't call me that.* He kept up an expression of disdain, but his insides were squirming. He wasn't entirely sure if he was excited, nervous, or simply hungry. The idea that there might be more Night Furies out there was definitely intriguing….and there was something about the place Johann had named, 'Mire-ker' or something, that sounded…oddly familiar to Toothless. He couldn't for the life of him place where he'd heard it before, though.

An excited grin spread across his rider's face. "This…this is incredible!" Hiccup exclaimed, running his hands through his messy auburn hair, "Johann, for once, I'm glad I stayed to listen to your story!"

"Well, thank you, master Hiccup, I…wait, what?" Johann frowned, realising what Hiccup had just said. Everyone ignored him.

"Oh, I can't believe it!" Fishlegs all but squealed in delight, "More Night Furies! It makes sense, Myrkr is uninhabited; if there were Night Furies living there no one would have known about them!" In his excitement, he accidentally hugged Ruffnut- she grimaced in disgust and shoved him away.

Hiccup turned to Johann urgently and asked, "Johann, can I have a look at your maps?" He was already spreading his own out onto the table, tracing his finger westward from Berk.

"They're on my ship right now, I'm afraid. What did you want them for?"

"I haven't gone as far west as Myrkr; the furthest Toothless and I have been is Shattered Axe Island" explained Hiccup, tapping an island sketched out on his map that did indeed roughly resemble an axe, but broken up by rivers and inlets.

"Well, I do know there's an island between there and Myrkr; it's the furthest I ever dare sail when I pass that way. Nott's Gate, it's called. It's about halfway from that island and the mainland…but tell me, master Hiccup, what do you want to know that for?"

Hiccup scribbled something on his map and folded it back up. As he did so, he explained "I just want to make sure there's somewhere for Toothless to rest on the way to Myrkr."

Now it was Stoick's turn to furrow his brow. "And what makes you think you're going anywhere near Myrkr?"

"Dad, this is my chance to find more Night Furies. I can't pass this up!"

Johann spluttered on his mead and exclaimed, "Weren't you listening to a word I said, master Hiccup? These Night Furies attacked a ship out of nowhere; if they really exist, and the sailor hadn't simply gone mad with fright, then they must be highly hostile to humans."

"I'll be safe with Toothless" Hiccup insisted confidently, petting his dragon's head, "They wouldn't attack one of their own."

"You want to go to Myrkr?" Fishlegs asked incredulously, "Hiccup, are you – are you crazy?! You can't go there! Didn't you hear Johann, it's the land of darkness, from which no man has ever returned alive!"

" _Cool_ " Tuffnut and Ruffnut said in unison, excited and slightly malevolent grins on their faces. "A mysterious far-away land filled with ferocious dragons – it sounds awesome!" declared Tuff.

"Sounds like Tuesday!" joked Ruff.

"Ha! I'd like to see these Night Furies get the better of Hookfang and me" Snotlout said with an arrogant smirk.

"Hookfang and I, you mean."

"Oh, what was that, Fishlegs? It was so boring I couldn't hear you."

Astrid turned to Hiccup and asked brightly, "So when do we set off?"

"There's no 'we', Astrid" Hiccup insisted firmly, much to her surprise, "I don't want you guys to come."

" _What_?" exclaimed Astrid, Snotlout and the twins simultaneously, staring at him in shock.

Hiccup hastily explained, "We don't know how Night Furies react to other dragons; Toothless spent years living in a nest full of different dragons, they're used to him, but these Night Furies might have a pack all to themselves. It'll be dangerous and I don't want you guys getting hurt."

"No one is going to get hurt" Stoick said firmly, "because _nobody_ is going anywhere near Myrkr. That includes you, Hiccup."

His son gaped at him. "What? But dad, I have to go! I've been waiting for five years to find any sign of other Night Furies. Toothless can't fly without me, he can't go on his own."

" _You_ shouldn't go on your own, Hiccup" Astrid protested, "We're a team, we work together!"

"Are any of you listening to me?" Stoick demanded crossly. Gobber opened his mouth to reply, but quickly closed it with a cough when the chief shot him a glare.

As the argument carried on, Toothless got to his feet and padded his way out of the Great Hall. His friends were outside, perched on the stone steps or the grass, waiting for their riders. *What's going on? Is everything alright?* asked Meatlug, fretting as usual.

Toothless repeated the gist of Johann's story, and the other dragons hissed or clicked their tongues in surprise, eyes widening. *You mean there's more of you out there?* Hookfang asked in distaste, *Oh no.*

The Night Fury snorted dismissively; he and Hookfang had a similar relationship to their riders. They didn't hate each other, but they'd had somewhat of a rivalry going on ever since Toothless had kicked Hookfang's scaly hide saving Hiccup from him. By now, both had become even and gotten over all that, but their semi-rivalry continued. Of course, he also had a friendly rivalry with Stormfly; Meatlug just wasn't that competitive, and B&B were too easily distracted.

*Don't listen to him. That's great news, Toothless. Congratulations* Stormfly told him, and he gave her a gummy smile.

*Thanks, Stormfly…I don't know if I believe it though. Johann said that this Myrkr land is two weeks away from Berk. The average dragon could fly that distance in four or five days; I could probably make it in two or so.*

*Yes, because you're so much better than us* Hookfang interrupted with an annoyed growl, but there was no real malice behind it. All the dragons knew that Toothless' kind, rare as they were, outstripped near every other kind in terms of speed and endurance; though eating cooked chicken gave them a fighting chance. It was just the way things were.

Toothless ignored him pointedly and continued, *If there _are_ Night Furies out there, why haven't any of them flown this way before?*

*Why don't you fly off and ask them? Oh wait, you can't* Hookfang snorted.

Stormfly hissed at him and snapped, *Shut up, Hookfang! You're as bad as your rider!*

*Actually, I could ask them. Hiccup wants to fly out to Myrkr to find out for sure if there are Night Furies there.*

*It has been a while since we went on an adventure* Stormfly remarked.

*He wants to go alone – just the two of us.*

Needless to say, the other dragons were as surprised as their riders had been. *Why would he want to that?* asked Barf.

*Doesn't he want help?* added Belch.

*He thinks it would be too dangerous for his friends to come* explained Toothless, *they're arguing about it right now. I suppose we'll just have to see what happens.*

*Won't it be too dangerous for Hiccup?* Meatlug asked worriedly.

* _I_ can protect him* Toothless declared fiercely, *Besides, I want to go. I can't explain it, but I feel like I'm meant to go there. Myrkr…it sounds so familiar. I can't figure out where I've heard it before.*

*Perhaps it's something from before…you know… _Her_ * Meatlug suggested, and all the dragons shook themselves, their scales crawling. _She_ was the last thing any of them wanted to think about.

* * *

That night, Toothless was woken by the sound of Hiccup moving around in his room. He gave an inquisitive coo and the young Viking looked over, pressing a finger to his lips. He was packing, Toothless realised – he was planning to go to Myrkr alone. The Night Fury felt conflicted…he got the vague feeling that it wasn't the best idea, a hazy memory lingering on the edge of his awareness. Yet the urge to fly out there was stronger, an instinctual tug that Toothless just couldn't ignore. Besides, if anything went wrong he would be there to protect Hiccup.

"C'mere, bud" Hiccup whispered. Toothless got to his feet and let Hiccup saddle him up, as quietly as possible. Fortunately his father was a deep sleeper. "I know we'll get in trouble for this" Hiccup admitted, "But I can't risk the others getting hurt. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something happened to them out there…you'll look after me though, right bud?"

Toothless gave him a gummy smile and purred, the dragon equivalent of a smile. Hiccup took that as a 'yes', and smiled. "Thanks, buddy…and besides, I've got a back-up plan" he promised, scribbling out a note and leaving it on his desk. They snuck out of the house via the opening in the roof that Toothless used to come and go as he pleased. When they were out behind the house, Hiccup whistled, and a little Terrible Terror came scampering down the roof, flying onto his shoulder.

 _Oh no_ Toothless thought exasperatedly. *Hello, Sharp-Shot.*

*Hello!* the tiny dragon squeaked happily. Toothless resisted the urge to moan; he'd never been the biggest fan of Terrible Terrors. They often irritated him…Sharp-Shot was no real exception.

"Shh! Sharp-Shot here's gonna come with us, bud. If something goes wrong, he can fly back to Berk and warn the others" Hiccup explained. He sat in Toothless' saddle and let Sharp-Shot crouch on his lap, the little dragons' claws catching on his thighs and the saddle itself. Ignoring the stings, Hiccup let out the tail-fin and Toothless took to the air, veering around and heading towards the west. It was time for an adventure into realms unknown… _Here goes nothing,_ he thought, surging forwards.

* * *

A/N: This chapter ended up being way longer than I thought, and now I'm making it even longer. If you use this link (without the spaces obviously) – www . dreamworkstv . com slash race-to-the-edge / map / # / map, it takes you to a version of Google Maps that shows where Berk and all the other islands would be if they really existed. In my story, Myrkr (pronounced Mire – kerr, it's the Norse word for darkness) is their equivalent of Greenland, but with forests instead of just rock and ice.

It's a really cool special feature and I'm sure most of you will already know about it, but I just thought I'd suggest having a look ; )


	2. Crashing Down

Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD

A/N: The song for this chapter is 'My Demons' by Starset, which is fitting because this chapter contains _angst_. You have been warned. I hope anyone who heard 'In My Eyes' enjoyed it

Chapter Two – Crashing Down

Stoick yawned and stretched, climbing out of bed and trudging into the living room. As usual he was up bright and early…well, early, at least, to fulfil the plethora of duties he had as chief. He planned to start grooming Hiccup as his successor very soon, perhaps in the next year or so – if the boy would bother to stay on the ground long enough. Lessons in being a chief were hard to give on dragonback. Speaking of Hiccup, Stoick climbed the staircase and knocked on his son's door. "Morning, son! Can I come in?"

He opened the door without waiting for an invitation, and then discovered he wouldn't have gotten one anyway. Hiccup's bed was empty, and the stone where Toothless normally slept was conspicuously devoid of any Night Furies. For a moment Stoick was bewildered, and a tad concerned…but then he shrugged it off. They'd probably just woken up early – or rather the dragon had, and woken up Hiccup – and gone out for a flight. Just so long as they came back for breakfast, he decided he didn't have to worry too much.

Hiccup drank some water from a skin he'd brought with him, and leaned over to let some of the liquid trickle into Toothless' mouth. His dragon moaned tiredly, and Hiccup sighed, petting him apologetically. "I know, I'm tired too, bud" he admitted, "Just hang on in there, okay?" He looked up, glad that the sun was behind them and not in his eyes, and in the distance he saw an island appear. With a sigh of relief, he exclaimed, "Oh, thank Thor. There's Shattered Axe Island, bud. We can land there and rest for a bit."

*Good thing too* Toothless replied with a warble, and urged his tired muscles to carry them to the island. They landed on the 'handle', in a shallow cove that they'd explored before and knew was safe. As soon as Hiccup had climbed off his back, Toothless flopped down to the ground. Hiccup leaned against him, scratching him behind the ears. Toothless purred with pleasure. "Just for an hour or so…we need to keep ahead of the others" Hiccup muttered. His father would be getting up now…he'd probably be flying out to find Hiccup in fifteen minutes.

Hiccup sighed and rested his head on Toothless' saddle, closing his eyes. _Just an hour…_ he told himself, already falling into a doze. If the others caught up with them, he'd take the lectures and scolding – he might even let them come with him – but there was no way he was giving up. He had to stay awake, on lookout…just to be safe…both dragon and rider were asleep in ten minutes.

* * *

Astrid was getting worried. Hiccup hadn't turned up for dragon training, and he _never_ missed a session. According to Stoick, he hadn't even shown up for breakfast. The chief assumed that his son had simply lost track of time – again – or taken some food with him, as there was a loaf of bread and quite a lot of fish missing from the pantry. It wouldn't be the first time Hiccup had taken a snack with him when he went flying with Toothless…but to take so much food, and not be back for hours…

The young shield-maiden's heart suddenly skipped a beat, as a horrible thought occurred to her. Johann's story, Hiccup's desire to find those Night Furies…his insistence on _going alone…_ no, he wouldn't, he couldn't have, there was no way in Odin's green Earth that Hiccup would do something so incredibly _stupid_ …Astrid tugged on Stormfly's harness and steered her dragon towards the chief's house. They landed outside and she leapt off of the Nadder's back. "Wait here, Stormfly" she said, before rushing into the house.

Stoick wasn't there – not that Astrid would have let that stop her. She bolted up to Hiccup's room. It was _still_ empty, and as her eyes roved around the space, she spotted a piece of folded up paper on his desk. Frowning, she walked over and unfolded it…her blood ran cold when she read the words on it. She rushed out of the house again, the note clutched in her hand, and swung herself into Stormfly's saddle. "Find the chief, girl!"

As soon as they found Stoick out patrolling the island on his Rumblehorn Skull-Crusher, Astrid shouted "Chief! Hiccup's gone!"

Skullcrusher slowed down to let Stormfly catch up, and Stoick called back, "I know, lass, he's out with Tooth"- he stopped when he noticed Astrid's wide eyed, panicked gaze.

"No!" She held up the note crumpled in her fingers, "He's _gone!_ To Myrkr!"

Stoick's eyes widened in shock…then narrowed in determination. "Get the others. Now!" he ordered. Astrid nodded and flew off to find her friends…Stoick and Skull-Crusher flew back to his house. He just needed to let his dragon get Hiccup's scent, nice and strong, and then they'd go and find his son. He swore to Odin, he was going to tie that boy to a chair if he had to. How _dare_ Hiccup disobey him like this!

* * *

Hiccup woke with a start – he wasn't supposed to fall asleep! He sat up and looked around wildly, gazing up at the wide blue sky. The sun had risen higher, and dragons glided high above, but none swooped down to reprimand him and Toothless. Speaking of his dragon, he shook Toothless' shoulders…he couldn't really shift the Night Fury, but Toothless yawned and woke up anyway. "Morning, bud" Hiccup said with forced cheer, "How about we have a drink and something to eat and set off again?" Sharp-Shot was already eager to go, chattering and chirruping like a mad thing.

*Food sounds great* Toothless replied with a happy purr. That was all Hiccup could hear, but he took it as a yes, and gave both dragons some fish. They replenished their water in a nearby stream, then Hiccup climbed into the saddle and they headed off west once more. In actual fact they were flying slightly north-west…for some reason, Toothless felt like it was where he should be going. If his instincts wanted him to go there, and Hiccup wanted to go there….in the back of his mind, he got the sense that they shouldn't be doing this, but it was drowned out by his instincts and desire to please his rider.

It was another long flight; it was easier to feed Toothless and Sharp-Shot since they just had to dive down and snatch some fish from the sea. Hiccup wished he'd thought to bring more food for himself. However fast Toothless could fly, the isle that Johann had called Nott's Gate was still hours away. Every so often, Hiccup would start a freefall and glide alongside Toothless. It helped combat the boredom and gave his dragon a break from carrying him…not for long, since Hiccup usually ended up needing rescue when he started to glide a bit too low.

* * *

" _HICCUP_!" bellowed Stoick, from the top of his considerably large lungs, " _HICCUP_!"

Skull Crusher roared in kind, projecting his thought-speak as far as he could. *TOOTHLESS!* He snorted angrily; it was just typical of young dragons, thought they could take on anything, no sense of responsibility. He'd _told_ the dragons when they'd first met about the wave, but none of them believed him, they didn't think a wave could be that large. It was only when they realised he wasn't trying to kill that hook-handed human – of course he hadn't, obviously, he'd just been scaring the human off – that they bothered to listen to him and help him get their humans attention.

They arrived at one of the uninhabited islands out in the western archipelago – uninhabited by humans, at least. A few of Skull Crusher's own kind could be found in these parts; he hoped they wouldn't fly into any. Goodness knew what his kin would say if they saw him with a human on his back. Not that he minded being ridden; he'd bonded with Stoick after the human alpha had been one of the first to try to actually listen to him….but not all dragons felt the same way.

*TOOTHLESS!* he shouted again. Didn't that dragon realise what he was doing? He was supposed to have an instinct to protect his rider. All the dragons, and even the humans from what he'd heard, agreed that Toothless shared a bond with Hiccup that surpassed any other. Skull Crusher was an old rumblehorn, well into his fourth century, and his kind could live for at least six. He remembered the years when Night Furies had not vanished…he remembered why they had, what their kind had become. To think that Toothless would willingly fly his rider into such danger!

He followed their scent to a clearing…their scent was strongest on a patch on the ground, and near a nearby stream, but there was no sign of the wayward pair. The other riders searched all over, but they couldn't find Hiccup and Toothless. They'd gotten too much of a head start. "We need to keep going!" Stoick commanded, his tone cutting off any thought of complaint, "We need to bring my son home! They'll have to rest, there's still time to catch up with them."

* * *

Hiccup and Toothless rested once more on Nott's Gate. This time Hiccup stayed awake, busying himself catching and cooking fish with help from Sharp-Shot to whet his appetite, and updating his map. He could see why the place was named Nott's Gate – it was pretty bleak, low lying moorland, dull and cold. There were grumpy sheep here, and although the dragons that came to investigate them were aggressive and territorial at first, they calmed down when he revealed his gliding wings and fire-sword….and after Toothless had growled at them defensively.

Toothless slept for another two hours; Hiccup fell asleep for the last hour, and this time Toothless woke him up, with lots of licking. "Eugh" he grumbled, "You know that doesn't wash out." Sharp-Shot chittered in amusement, saying *Funny human!* and Hiccup rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, you guys think it's hilarious, don't you?"

*Can he hear us? Can he, can he?* Sharp-Shot asked Toothless as he clung to the bigger dragons' saddle. Toothless flicked his ear-fins as the little Terror's high pitched voice invaded his hearing, and sighed.

*Of course not. No human can hear thought-speak.*

*Hiccup is good at guessing!* Sharp-Shot chirped happily. Toothless rolled his eyes, but he had to admit the little dragon had a point. Hiccup was very clever…it was one of the many things Toothless loved about his rider.

It had grown dark by the time they set off; but the moon was full, and the sky was clear, if cold. It was only a couple more hours before the coast of Myrkr loomed up ahead, stretching across the horizon like an ominous, mountainous barrier to the rest of the world. They'd never seen a land mass this large; Sharp-Shots eyes went wide, and he chattered excitedly about how huge it was. Toothless groaned in annoyance – for the first time, he decided he'd found someone more annoying than that talkative trader.

Suddenly Toothless stiffened, veering off course towards the north-western mountains, his pupils slitted. He felt the pull of his instincts tugging him towards the mountains, like a familiar call…too familiar…it felt almost like…how it was when he…was pulled to _her_ nest. When he thought…it was home…

Now he understood; this instinct, this _homing_ instinct…was this place his home? Had he come from here? He struggled to remember…vague, fuzzy memories floated to the forefront of his mind. Three other Furies…maybe his father, his mother and….who was the third? Something still didn't feel right…but what? Surely he should feel happy to be returning home…yet Toothless felt nothing but dread, and despite that he kept flying.

They rounded a bluff and came across a fjord, digging through the sea cliffs and surrounded by forests. There was a ship moored in the inlet, lit by torchlight, and even from their high vantage point it didn't look friendly – its sail was pitch black. Hiccup pulled back on the saddle a bit, and Toothless slowed to a hover, beating his wings to keep himself aloft. Sharp-Shot peered over his shoulder at the ship and squeaked nervously.

Hiccup took out his spy-glass and tried to figure out what kind of ship it was; he didn't recognise it. "I can't see…let's get a closer look, bud" he suggested. They flew in a little closer, taking care to stay out of range of any attacks. As they got closer, Hiccup peered through his spy-glass and spotted cages and catapults on the deck of the ship. "Dragon hunters" he muttered sourly, "I'd rather not. Come on, Toothless, let's get out of here."

*Don't have to tell me twice* the Night Fury replied with a hum, angling his wings upwards and gaining altitude. They swept up towards the cliffs, and as they passed over a clearing, Hiccup saw more cages, only these ones weren't empty. "Toothless, wait!" he exclaimed, "There are dragons back there, bud, we can't just leave them."

*What you mean is, we shouldn't leave them* Toothless sighed, turning about and heading back towards the clearing. As he approached, his sharp eyes noticed that there were no hunters – no humans at all – near the cages…something wasn't right. They dropped lower still, and they could all hear the dragons roaring…but only Toothless and Sharp-Shot could hear what the captured dragons were saying.

*Go back!*

*Fly away!*

*It's _a_ _trap_!*

By the time Toothless was low enough to hear all this, it was too late. Something whistled through the air towards them; Hiccup yelped in alarm and clicked the pedal quickly as Toothless went into a barrel roll…but then two more projectiles were flung from the other direction. Toothless' wing batted one away, but the other wrapped itself around his tail-fin, crumpling the prosthetic. Caught off balance, Toothless shrieked in alarm and struggled to stay aloft. "NO!" Hiccup yelled, struggling to adjust the tail-fin, but it was no good.

More bolas' came catapulting out from the edges of the clearing, wrapping chains around the night fury and sending it shrieking from the sky. Sharp-Shot flew off the saddle, dodging the chains, and flew in a panic up into the air, screeching in fear. Toothless writhed in the air as the hard ground rushed all too eagerly to greet him; he twisted so that despite his limbs being bound to his sides, he landed on his stomach. It was painful, but it was better than landing on his back and accidentally crushing Hiccup.

"No! Get off! Let go of me!" Hiccup shouted, grabbing Inferno in his right hand and igniting the blade, trying to ward off the hunters trying to pull him away from Toothless. For a moment they hesitated; but then the man nearest to the fiery sword grunted and reached out to grip Hiccup's wrist, bending it backwards. Hiccup cried out in pain and loosened his grip; the hilt fell from his grasp, and was quickly snatched away.

*Get off him! Get back!* Toothless shouted with a snarl, twisting his neck to fire a blast at the hunters. They'd get the message then, surely. Yet these hunters, damn them, they were staying out of range; one of them lunged at him from behind and clamped a muzzle around his jaws. Hiccup was pulled to his feet, his arms pulled back and his hands tied behind his back. He continued to shout and struggle, as did Toothless, but then a ringing sound rang out, getting everyone's attention.

A tall, thickset man with a short black beard and close cropped hair strode forwards, a sword in his right hand and a shield slung over his left shoulder. For a split second Hiccup thought he recognised the man, but then realised it wasn't who he thought it was. The man's blood red cape and insignia – two scarlet crossed bones - emblazoned on the buckle of his belt marked him out as the leader. "Chief!" one of the hunters exclaimed, confirming Hiccup's suspicion, "You were right, Chief. There _are_ Night Furies here!"

 _Oh no…_ these hunters were here for the same reason as him? Hiccup was really starting to regret this whole venture. All his rationalisations about not putting his friends at risk and being able to handle himself rang hollow. Their leader looked Toothless over, and then Hiccup. The young Viking really didn't like the way he was eyeing them.

"You simpletons" he sighed in exasperation, "This Night Fury isn't _from_ here; it has a rider. And not just any rider…" He approached Hiccup, who eyed him warily. "I am Hauke, Chief of the Blood Bone tribe, and you"- he held the tip of his sword under Hiccup's chin, forcing the younger man to jerk his head up - "must be the Dragon Master."

Hiccup resisted the urge to gulp nervously. "What? Dragon what, I, I have _no_ idea what you're talking about" he lied, "I mean, yeah, I can calm dragons down but I can't… _control_ them or something, that's…that's ridiculous."

The other hunters muttered to each other. One of them, the first one to speak, asked "Uh, chief? Are you _sure_ he's the Dragon Master?"

Hauke lowered his sword from Hiccup's neck, and the younger man dared to let out the breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding. The chief strode over to his underling and asked, "Are you saying you think I'm wrong?"

"No, chief! Not at all, I just…err…I just thought he'd be…bigger."

"So you _do_ think I'm wrong" Hauke noted. Out of nowhere, he punched the man in the stomach; the hunter groaned and doubled over. Hiccup was reminded strongly of Dagur, and he briefly wondered if every chief in the archipelago and beyond, apart from his father, was a maniac. Then again, he hadn't really _met_ many other chiefs…

Hauke glared at the rest of the hunters and asked, "Does anyone else want to disagree with me?" Everyone but Hiccup shook their heads frantically.

*Cowards* Toothless snorted.

"Drop the act, boy. Word gets around, when a teenage boy takes down a Red Death - I know who you are, Hiccup Haddock" said Hauke, "And what _you_ need to know is that _I_ amin charge here." To emphasise his point, he placed a foot on Toothless' head. The Night Fury snarled through his muzzle and jerked his head, trying to dislodge the boot from his skull. *Get off me!* he shouted, but the boot just pressed down harder and he whimpered in pain, hiding it in a snarl.

"Stop!" Hiccup shouted, glaring angrily at Hauke; he struggled in his captors grasp. "Leave him alone!"

"I will, if you do something for me."

Hiccup eyed him warily. "…Do what?" he finally asked; it was undoubtedly nothing good, but perhaps Hiccup could buy himself time for the others to catch up. They had probably come after him the moment they found his note in the morning, so they couldn't be too far behind…

"Train dragons for battle" Hauke replied simply.

"I'm sorry?"

"You heard me. Tame the beasts we catch and train them for battle. Then we can turn them against our enemies; after all, how better to capture dragons, than with other dragons? I believe my men and I proved that point when we lured and shot you down."

Hiccup stared at him in disbelief. "You want me to train your dragons to fight for you? Well, that's gonna be difficult. Dragons have an instinct to protect those who've earned their trust; I really doubt you lot have done anything to earn that trust. Look, just let me show you what dragons are really like" he offered, clutching at straws somewhat, "They're not just living weapons you can force to do your bidding. They're kind, and loyal and, and _incredible,_ and I could train them all you want, but they would never follow someone like you."

Hauke stared at him through this whole spiel with a measured, emotionless expression. Then he took his foot from Toothless' head - *It's about time!* - and walked around to stand before Hiccup once more. "So what you're trying to say is…you refuse."

Hiccup looked up at him – not by much though – and retorted, "Do you want me to spell it –agh!" he cried out when Hauke suddenly and violently back-handed him. Toothless screeched angrily through his muzzle.

Hauke stared at Hiccup; the young man looked shocked, and there was a red mark on the left side of his face, but he gathered himself up and stared Hauke down. "I see you're going to take a bit more persuading" he remarked, though he didn't seem too disappointed…in fact, he almost sounded pleased. He turned to his men and ordered, "Put the Night Fury in the pit. As for the boy…try to hold back a little. I need him in one piece."

Toothless and Hiccup both struggled as the jet black dragon was dragged and carried away by rough, strong hands. "Toothless! Get off him! Get- mmph!" Hiccup's cries were cut off by a horrible sweaty hand over his mouth. Toothless snarled and screeched the whole time. *Get off me! I will tear you all apart! Let me go!* He gave up futilely think-speaking and focused all his attention on getting free.

"Wait!" Hauke cried out, holding a hand up. The hunters stopped taking Toothless away, looking confused, and the dragon continued to thrash in their grasp. "I almost forgot…" He calmly walked over to the struggling Night Fury, and around towards his tail…Hiccup could only watch with wide eyes, all his protests muffled, as Hauke proceeded to slash the tailfin to shreds. When it was well and truly in tatters, he walked away without another word.

Trapped and helpless, Hiccup could only watch as Toothless was carried away from him. There were twelve hunters, thirteen including Hauke; it took eight of the beefy men to drag and carry Toothless, and the last four remained with Hiccup. The one with his hand over Hiccup's mouth took it away and demanded, "Yer gonna train those dragons for us or what?"

Hiccup simply glared at him, and he scowled, rendering his ugly features even uglier. "Well then, I guess we're gonna have ta convince yer then, eh?" he asked, his fingers curling into a meaty fist. Hiccup noticed the movement, and the man didn't move as suddenly as Hauke. He managed to just dodge the first blow, which struck the side of his head instead of his face.

He couldn't block the second.

* * *

Pain defined Hiccup's world at that moment. The pain of the bruises and small cuts that now littered his body, courtesy of the ruthless beating he'd received. The hunters had taken their chiefs words to heart, holding back _just_ enough to not break any bones. Then there was the pain of the rough, worn rope tied around his wrists, making both hands feel numb and like needles were being driven into them, and the pain of his growling, starving stomach.

After pain, there was self-hate. He felt like such a selfish, stupid _idiot._ What in the name of Thor had he been thinking, coming to Myrkr alone! All the rationalisations, all the excuses he'd told himself; that he didn't want to put his friends in danger, that he could tame the Night Furies as he'd tamed Toothless, that he wouldn't go looking for trouble…he had been looking for trouble, for Frigga's sake. He had been running, he wasn't sure what from, but he'd been a coward and seen the adventure as an excuse to escape from everything and everyone that had been bothering him at home.

Now he wanted nothing more than for himself and Toothless to be safely back at home. He just had to hold out long enough for his friends, and undoubtedly his father, to come and rescue them. Hiccup didn't care if his father yelled at him, or how he was punished. He'd accept whatever dressing down he got, because at least it would be done out of love and not hatred.

He heard footsteps and tensed, but didn't look up from where he was sitting in an empty dragon cage. The footsteps were accompanied by loud, pointed voices. "You think he's gonna agree yet?"

"I dunno. He's pretty stubborn. Tougher than he looks, that kid."

"Shuddup!" This was accompanied by the sound of a hand smacking a skull, "Don't act impressed. We're tryin' ta break 'im, not compliment 'im."

"I weren't! I was just sayin'…"

"Y'know, I dunno why the chief asked us to beat 'im. You'd think he'd 'ave got the message sooner if we'd beaten that Night Fury of 'is."

Hiccup's eyes flew open, wide with horror. He stared through the darkness at the outlines of the two hunters, as they stopped a few feet away from his makeshift cell and kept talking.

"Yeah, yer would, wouldn't yer? Yer think maybe if we hurt the dragon, the boy's gonna break faster?"

"Could be; the chief could think of all sorts to do. Whip it, brand it…"

"Break its wings."

"Cut its tail off"-

" _Stop_!" Hiccup cried out, unable to bear hearing anymore. His mind was conjuring images he did _not_ want to see. The two hunters looked over at him, and in the light of the full moon he could see their malicious smirks.

"Thought that would work" one of them said smugly, "You ready to train those wretched creatures for us, boy?"

"I…I…" the words stuck in Hiccup's throat; he felt so conflicted. Everything he was, his whole identity hinged on being a friend of dragons, a peace-keeper between dragon and human kind. If he trained dragons for war, he'd be betraying all that he'd stood for the last five years. On the other hand…it might be the only way to save Toothless, and just the thought of his best friend being harmed made bile rise up in Hiccup's throat.

Just as he was about to give in, Hiccup heard a familiar, furious roar; Toothless' roar. Hadn't he been muzzled? The other dragons trapped in cages nearby took up the cry, roaring and screeching no matter how much the hunters yelled at them to be quiet. The sound gave Hiccup courage, but he couldn't bring himself to outright refuse, when they'd probably just start beating him to a pulp all over again. So when the noise finally died down, he said, "I…need more time. To think, I mean."

The hunters frowned. " _I_ think we've given yer _plenty_ o' time" the one he thought of as 'Ugly Nose' pointed out.

"I need a bit more. _Please_ " he begged quickly, when their expressions darkened. It sickened him to stoop so low, but it was the only way he could think of to make them back off.

The hunters seemed to decide that his pleading was a sign he was beginning to break; the other hunter, Sweaty, thrust a hand through the bars and tossed something in Hiccup's direction. "Dinner" he said simply. It was only a piece of bread, old and probably a bit mouldy, but Hiccup forced it down anyway because it was food and he was starving and it lessened the pain in his belly just a little. Then he curled up, rested his head on his knees and prayed to every god he knew of that this nightmare would be over soon.

He'd bought himself a little time, but he knew that if they hurt Toothless before his friends came to his aid…he would have no choice but to obey Hauke. Toothless didn't deserve to be punished for _his_ recklessness…and his dragon meant the world to him.


	3. The Impossible Bond

Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD

A/N: The theme song for this chapter is 'You'll be in My Heart' by Phil Collins.

Chapter Three – The Impossible Bond

Toothless snarled and leapt at the wall of his prison, his claws digging into the dirt. He beat his wings to give himself more lift, and heaved himself up to the dragonfire proof grate that barred his escape. It creaked under his weight as he dragged himself underneath, hoping to loosen it with his weight. Yet no matter how much he clawed and tugged, it wouldn't give way. He lost his grip and fell back to the ground, twisting in mid-air like a cat to land on his paws.

He'd finally managed to break the leather muzzle that had been binding his mouth shut, about an hour ago. Heat flooded his mouth as he charged a plasma blast and fired it up at the grate…the damn metal briefly vanished in a cloud of smoke, but when the smoke cleared, it was only burnt, not broken. That was his last shot. A roar of frustration issued from his throat; a rock flew through the air and hit the grate. "Shut it, yer wretched lizard!" a hunter yelled gruffly. Toothless snarled and roared even louder, shouting *I'll shut up when you stop hurting my rider!*

The hunter appeared at the edge of the pit, aiming a crossbow at him. A bow with a green tipped arrow….Toothless snarled at him, but reluctantly backed away. He knew what those arrows could do, and as much as he'd like to tear all of these hunters limb from limb, he couldn't risk being shot with one. The wretched excuse for a human guffawed and sneered at him. "Yeah, I thought this lil' beauty would shut yer up. Now pipe down, or it'll turn out nasty for that precious rider o' yours."

*I won't give up. I _will_ get to Hiccup. I will _never_ let him down* Toothless challenged the man as he left, not caring that the stupid human couldn't understand him. He knew that humans could be good, kind creatures…but these hunters, they were less than human, they were _monsters._ He'd heard Hiccup's shouts and screams of pain, and he'd been enraged, fighting tooth and nail to escape his bonds and then the pit they'd literally shoved him into.

When the screams stopped his heart had filled with dread, fearing the worst. It was only by roaring to get the attention of the caged dragons that Toothless learned that no, his rider wasn't dead – thank the Moon – but he was badly hurt. From what the other dragons had told him, Toothless gleaned that the hunters wanted Hiccup to train the captured dragons for them, so they could set the dragons against their enemies. It was Alvin and Dagur all over again – though those men had reformed in the end, but Toothless didn't hold out hope for this wretched lot.

Fifteen minutes later, as he was digging at the dirt in a futile attempt to tunnel his way out, Toothless heard booted footsteps approaching. He looked up at the grate…and growled angrily at a man he loathed; the leader of the hunters who had captured him and hurt his human. Hauke simply stared down at him, and then crouched down to slide open a hatch. Then he stood up again, and beckoned to someone behind him.

Two more hunters came forward, dragging a third person between them. Toothless' eyes widened and he yelped in alarm – it was Hiccup. By the Moon, what had they _done_ to him?! His leather armour was gone, his tunic and trousers torn all over, his breathing laboured. Even from down there, Toothless could smell the blood and tears and sweat and _misery_ that rolled off his human in waves, and it nearly drove him mad. He roared furiously at Hauke, mentally swearing vengeance on the man for _daring_ to hurt Hiccup.

Ignoring the dragon, Hauke took out a dagger from his belt, turning it over in his hands. "I've been thinking" he began, almost conversationally, "that you'll be too much trouble. If threatening your precious dragon doesn't convince you, I doubt anything will. Now I could break you, but you'd just keep fighting, wouldn't you? Unless of course, you've changed your mind" he remarked.

Despite being in pain, Hiccup found the strength to raise his head and glare defiantly at Hauke. "You…got one thing right…" he panted, "I'll…join you…when Ragnarok comes round."

"I was afraid you'd say that. You would have been so useful, but I can't be bothered to break you in when I can break in your dragon so much more easily."

*No-one can break me, you eel-eating worm, and no one ever will!*

Without knowing it, Hiccup was in complete agreement with his dragon. "He'll…fight you. We'll both…fight you."

"No, you won't. I am going to kill two dragons with one axe, so to speak; get rid of you and break your Night Fury at the same time. Besides…my boss doesn't really like competition" Hauke remarked far too casually. Without warning, he thrust the dagger into Hiccup's left side; the young man threw his head back and screamed, and his dragon screeched in horror. *NO!*

The hunters dumped Hiccup unceremoniously through the hatch and walked away; he landed with a thud and collapsed on his back, clutching his side and groaning in pain. Panicked, frantic, Toothless whined and nuzzled him, trying to keep him awake. *No, no, no! Don't go! Stay awake, you'll be alright!*

Hiccup whimpered, tears leaking out of his tightly closed eyes. Feeling like Thor's Hammer was on his chest and Odin's Sword in his side, he forced his eyes open and gazed up at his dragon. "I…I'm s-so sorry...All my…fault…I let you...down…I…" His vision grew dark; the hand pressed hard against his side to stem the blood went limp. _Goodbye, Toothless…dad…Astrid…_ he lost consciousness.

*No! No please, not him! I can't – I can't!* Toothless was nearly beside himself. He had to save Hiccup, but he couldn't, even with the healing properties of his saliva there was no way he could heal such a deep injury, he felt utterly _helpless…_

Out of nowhere an idea, a memory burst to life inside his mind. It was impossible, it could never work – but Toothless leapt on it like a spot of light he loved to chase but could never catch. *Forgive me* he whimpered, biting down hard on the tip of his own tail. His scales weren't as thick there…when he tasted blood, he carefully rested the tip against Hiccup's wound, watching his chest rapidly rise and fall. He needed to be alive for it to work – he just needed to stay alive for a little bit longer.

Their blood mixed together – his darker blood dripped into Hiccup's wound, and Hiccup's blood seeped under his scales into his veins. Knowing he didn't have much time, and hoping it would be enough, Toothless pulled his tail away and pressed his paw against the wound. He craned his neck back, looking up at the full moon high above him. It was at its apex in the sky – midnight. *By the Moon, I swear my life and my love to Hiccup Haddock the Third, and bind my heart to his, so he will not die. I don't want him to die!*

He continued to stare pleadingly up at the moon…the great white orb stared back impassively, and Toothless despaired. He hung his head, sadly nuzzling his unconscious, dying rider. Their friends would surely come looking for them…he hoped Stoick could forgive him for failing to save his son. Part of him almost hoped Stoick would be angry, would even kill him out of rage…it would hurt in more ways than one, but at least then he'd be with his best friend….

Toothless gasped, his eyes flying open. He'd felt the blood flowing from Hiccup's wound…until now. Cautiously, he lifted his blood stained paw and stared at the wound…it had healed up, leaving only a dark scar. Hiccup's breathing had evened out, his skin regaining its colour. Toothless couldn't believe his eyes…he hardly dared hope…he nuzzled and licked Hiccup's face, trying to wake him up.

A few more nudges, and Hiccup groaned….his eyes fluttered open. Toothless was looking down at him, warbling with worry…confused, Hiccup raised his hand…and saw blood staining his fingers. Toothless pressed his snout against his human's palm, quivering in sheer delight. *You're alive!*

Hiccup froze, eyes widening in shock. He'd heard a voice, clear as day, only it had been coming from his dragon (but Toothless' mouth hadn't moved; it was like he was hearing his dragon's thoughts)… "Did you…did you just…talk?!" he whispered hoarsely.

Toothless pulled back a little, hesitating. He looked away from Hiccup and quickly licked the blood from his paw. It tasted awful, not the good-to-eat taste of blood from fresh meat – it tasted like death. *We need to escape* he said at last. Dazed, Hiccup nodded, and tried to sit up. Toothless helped him to his feet, and let Hiccup stand on his shoulders so the young man could reach up and climb through the still open hatch. The metal was freezing cold, and nearly sticking to his fingers. Hiccup struggled with the lock, sliding the bolt open – he winced as it scraped – and heaving the grate open.

It was all he could do to hold it open, but Toothless quickly scrambled up the dirt wall and wriggled out. He helped Hiccup lower the grate back down as quietly as possible. *Climb on* he prompted, crouching down a bit so Hiccup could climb onto his back. He looked over at the nearest cage, with a Nadder trapped inside it, and wished they could help her.*Sorry. I have to…he's hurt.*

*Run, go. We will be okay* she replied; Hiccup's jaw nearly dropped, still getting used to hearing the dragons speaking. Were they speaking? They weren't opening their mouths, but he could still hear voices coming from their…foreheads? It was hard to tell in the dark. The Nadder tilted her head to get a better look at him and chirruped kindly. *Thank you for trying to help us. We're sorry you were hurt* she told him. Hiccup could only swallow and nod, and then Toothless was carrying him past the cages and through the forests towards the mountains.

Suddenly he realised something and tugged on the handles of Toothless' saddle. "Wait, we…we have to go back" he protested weakly, "Toothless, stop. The other dragons…we can't leave them with…with those… _argh_ " he cried out in frustration, "Toothless, we have to help them."

*We can't!* Toothless nearly roared at him. In a quieter tone he said apologetically, *I'm sorry, but we can't. You're too weak, I can't fly. We can't risk it, I'm sorry.* He felt sorry for the captured dragons, but they had no choice. He would not risk his rider being captured and hurt all over again...they just had to find somewhere to hide and wait for the others to come.

Hiccup knew his dragon was right, but it still made vines of guilt twist in his stomach and around his heart to think of abandoning them all. He tried to push the thoughts from his mind; it was taking all his energy and concentration just to stay on Toothless, and they were running over pretty even ground. Thor knew what he'd do when the ground rose up towards the mountains.

* * *

Toothless thought he was running towards the mountains to find caves, and that was true, but he was starting to realise that the pull, the homing instinct that had led him there in the first place, was also leading him to the mountains. It felt right to follow it…and yet at the same time it felt wrong. This instinct had led them to Myrkr and gotten them into this whole mess to begin with…he felt dread building up in his heart, the crawling feeling of unseen danger creeping over his scales.

His pace slowed from a swift, nearly panicked dash to a slow jog, and then to a walk. Finally he came to a stop in a clearing, looking back over his shoulder and panting hard. Hiccup was panting as well, but he could tell something was wrong, from the way Toothless looked all around them, his ear-fins erect and alert, his pupils slitted and eyes wide. "What…what's wrong?" he asked breathlessly, "Toothless?"

*I don't…know…I sense…danger…I don't know…where to go* Toothless replied, his thought-speak broken up as he looked all around, trying to fight the urge to keep going towards the mountains, but not knowing where else to go. His sharp hearing picked up the sound of swooping wings; he tensed, and felt Hiccup tense too, the man not knowing what had spooked his dragon but instantly assuming they had to run again.

Hiccup rubbed his ear, thinking he'd heard a raspy, sort of high pitched voice saying their names over and over. There was a rustling sound above them as twigs snapped, and they both looked up in alarm…to see a little green and brown Terror fly down to them, squeaking happily. *Hiccup! Toothless!*

In spite of everything, Hiccup couldn't help but grin in relief. "Sharp-Shot! Hey, little guy!" he greeted happily, petting the little dragon nuzzling his cheek. "I thought you'd flown off, where did you go? You can tell me, I…I can hear you." That was bizarre to say, but exciting at the same time.

*I hid!* Sharp-Shot answered, not even questioning why Hiccup could suddenly understand him, *I waited! I knew you'd escape, I waited!*

 _And you didn't think to get help?_ Toothless felt bad for thinking this; Terrors could be rather literal minded, and Hiccup _had_ said he wanted to use Sharp-Shot to deliver a message. Perhaps the little guy could fetch Hiccup's friends, but first… *We need to hide* he said, getting ready to run again.

Before he could however, a dragon dived between the trees and blocked his path, growling threateningly. Toothless yelped in shock, and then growled right back at…at the _Night Fury,_ who was glaring at them both with emerald green luminous eyes. Four more Night Furies, all with eyes in yellow shades, swooped in and surrounded them, backing Toothless up against a tree.

Hiccup held Sharp-Shot in his hands, ignoring the pricks of tiny claws, to calm him down. He took his feet out of the stirrups, just in case Toothless ended up fighting the other Furies (oh Thor, please don't let it come to that) and he had to climb off in a hurry. "Shh, it's okay" he whispered.

*Trespasser!* the green eyed Fury snarled – his voice sounded strangely familiar - , *who are…you?* His eyes narrowed, he took a few steps towards Toothless (who snarled warningly) and sniffed…then the Fury's eyes widened, and he pulled back, one paw raised. He looked shocked. *Midnight?!* he demanded, staring at Toothless.

 _Midnight? That's…that's my…_ Toothless winced, shaking his head. Somewhere in the back of his mind, a long-shut door creaked open… *Shadow?* he asked, staring at the Night Fury…who had eyes like he remembered his father having…a strange mix of apprehension and joy filled him as he tentatively added… *You're…Shadow? My…brother?*

*Yes, it's me! Where have you _been_ all this time? And why…* Shadow's gaze was drawn to Hiccup, and he started to growl again, *Why is there a _human_ on your back? Is that a _saddle_ you're wearing?*

*You have a brother? Cool!*

*His left tail-fin is gone!* One of the other Furies exclaimed. Shadow moved to get a better look, but Toothless just swept his tail around to display the shredded remains of his prosthetic tail fin.

*Hunters did this; we just escaped from them. We need somewhere to hide!*

*They're mean!*

*Then throw that human off, and*-

*NO!* Toothless shouted, punctuating it with a small roar, *I won't abandon him!*

*Hiccup's our friend* Sharp-Shot insisted, crawling onto Hiccup's shoulder and nuzzling his cheek.

Shadow first looked shocked, and then angry. The female closest to him said cruelly, * It's a _human,_ Midnight. If you hadn't been in the way I could have killed it.*

Toothless shot a plasma blast at her front paws and snarled at her, furious. Shadow snarled and leapt between them, facing Toothless. *Don't you _dare_ attack my mate!*

*Don't you _dare_ attack my rider!* Toothless growled threateningly, *Hiccup is not an 'it', or a threat, he's my best friend. I will fight you if I have to* he declared, muscles coiled, charging a plasma blast – but he cut it off when he felt Hiccup press a hand to the top of his head.

"No, bud, you…you don't have to fight" Hiccup protested; he looked at Shadow and implored him, "It…it's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you…I don't hurt dragons…it's okay…" all his confidence in his abilities to tame the Night Furies of Myrkr was dwindling rapidly. _Stupid Hiccup. Stupid, stupid, stupid…!_

*Look at him, does he _look_ like a threat?* Toothless demanded, feeling desperate. The longer they argued and fought, the more chance there was of the hunters who might be chasing them catching up, and then he and Hiccup would be doomed.

*It's too weak to hurt us, but it still has to die. It's seen too much* Shadow's mate proclaimed harshly, her slit-pupiled lemon yellow eyes glaring daggers at Hiccup.

*Wait* Shadow's eyes narrowed suspiciously, *You said you would fight us, but the human told you not to, as if…it understood you?*

*Yes, _he_ can…* Toothless realised where this was going. *I had no choice* he insisted, *He would have died if I hadn't done it!*

Hiccup swallowed hard and hesitantly asked, "Err…hadn't done… what?"

Now was _not_ the time to try and explain what he'd done to Hiccup, but Shadow and his hunting party were expecting him to answer. *Hiccup and I are heart-bound* he revealed, and they hissed in shock. He was so desperate to get his best friend somewhere safe that he put his pride away and pleaded, *Shadow, _please._ We're brothers. If you still care about me, at all, you will help me help Hiccup. He means _everything_ to me.*

One of the other Furies, a male with orange-yellow eyes asked, *What should we do with them?*

Shadow looked away with a snarl of frustration. He ought to leave the human to die, and if Midnight wanted to stay with the fireless weakling then so be it…but as angry as he was, he couldn't bring himself to reject his long-lost brother. *We take them to the nest* he stated at last, *The Queen must know of this – a heart bound human. She will decide their fate.*

*We can't bring a-*

*We have no choice, Eclipse!* Shadow snapped at his mate, literally, before telling Toothless, *Bring the human and follow us. We'll have to go on foot.*

"Wait!" Hiccup gasped; he'd gotten yet another crazy idea, and he _knew_ it was crazy, but he'd come this far… He tugged a broken charcoal pencil and folded piece of paper from his tunic, spreading the paper out on Toothless' saddle and writing as fast as he could.

*What is it doing?* Eclipse asked suspiciously.

"Writing a letter" he mumbled in reply, "Can you take this to my friends, Sharp-Shot?"

*Yes, yes, yes.*

*Are you telling them where we are?* Toothless asked hopefully, looking back at his rider.

"No."

*What? But they can take us home! We found Night Furies like you wanted.*

"Exactly; there's so much more I could learn, and…maybe I can change their minds about humans. I changed yours, didn't I?" Hiccup smiled at him briefly.

*You won't enslave us like you've enslaved my brother* Shadow snarled.

*I'm not enslaved.*

"I can prove you can trust me; just give me a chance" Hiccup murmured, finishing the letter. He rolled it up and pierced it on Sharp-Shot's claws. The little dragon licked his cheek and flew off.

Hiccup watched him go, his head spinning with the metaphorical bricks that kept being dropped on it. _Toothless…his real name is Midnight? I guess it does suit him better. Will he want to be called that? He said we were heart-bound but…what does that mean?_ He wondered. It was clearly the reason he was still alive, and he had _so_ many questions, but he was _so_ tired and it was probably a better idea to wait for now.

* * *

Shadow and the other Furies led them towards the mountains, over increasingly rougher terrain. At last they reached the foot of a towering mountain; when Hiccup craned his head back, he could _just_ make out the outlines of jet black dragons flying overhead, briefly blocking out the stars. Shadow led the way to a jagged tongue of ancient lava, grey and cracked, that snaked down the side of the volcano.

Behind it there was a tunnel, half filled with dirt to make a rough slope. *Wait here* Shadow ordered, before going inside the tunnel. They waited, and waited, and at last he re-emerged to say, *I've warned the sentry. He won't attack the human, now come on.* He disappeared back down the tunnel.

Eclipse swooped down it; Toothless skidded on his paws, down five or so feet into what looked like a Screaming Death tunnel. Hiccup nearly fell off the saddle. *Are you okay?* he asked worriedly.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine" Hiccup answered. Well, he was as fine as he could be, with six hostile Night Furies escorting them into a nest full of more hostile Night Furies. Talking Night Furies…Hiccup was scared, exhausted and still in a lot of pain, but somewhere inside he was ecstatic by this newfound ability to understand what dragons were saying.

*Hurry* Shadow called impatiently. Two of the other Night Furies in the hunting party moved on either side of Toothless, with the final one bringing up the rear. Away from the light that filtered in through the entrance, the tunnel swiftly became pitch black. Hiccup couldn't see a thing; he and Toothless were putting their lives in the…claws, he supposed, of creatures that had threatened to kill him. What had Shadow's mate…Eclipse…meant when she said he had seen too much? What was so bad about seeing other Night Furies?

*I'm going to fly ahead and warn the Queen. The rest of you, keep an eye on my brother and the human* Shadow declared, before taking a running leap into the air. Eclipse continued to lead the way, Toothless following her scent and the sound of her footsteps.

Every so often, the Furies let out familiar, high-pitched roars that echoed down the tunnel. Hiccup was very glad _they_ could navigate in the dark, and glad that apart from one turn the tunnel seemed to be more or less straight. Though he got the sense that they were passing more tunnels and this was just the quickest route to…wherever they were going. He felt his head nod, eyes falling closed; then he jerked and rubbed his temple. The touch stung, and he winced and yawned.

Toothless glanced back at his rider, able to see him indistinctly even in this darkness. *Just lie down if you're tired* he prompted with a reassuring croon. Hiccup was very tempted to take him up on the offer, but…he felt uncomfortable letting his guard down. "I…I'm okay…" he lied, and Toothless knew he was lying, but the dragon didn't say anything.

At last, the darkness lifted as light filtered down from other tunnels. Shadow was waiting for them beside another tunnel. *You're lucky, Midnight* he remarked, flexing his wings, *Queen Phoebe is allowing the human to remain here for the night. When it wakes, she will decide what to do with it. For now, you can both sleep in there.* He jerked his head at the other tunnel, as Eclipse moved to his side.

Toothless didn't feel like thanking his brother if Shadow kept calling Hiccup 'the human' and 'it', so he merely gave a brief purr – the dragon version of a smile – and padded alone into the tunnel. It led to a medium sized cavern, the floor covered in dirt that had long been pressed smooth by many paws. The others didn't follow him, but he still went right to the back of the cave before he stopped to let Hiccup climb off.

The moment Toothless came to a halt, Hiccup unhooked himself from the saddle, climbed off and sank to his knees. He was shaking from the adrenaline of their escape…except it felt like they hadn't really escaped at all. They were still prisoners, and these dragons wanted him dead…oh gods…he'd nearly _died._ Now that he had a chance to rest, it all came rushing in on him like a tidal wave. He'd been _stabbed._ He remembered the shocking, agonising pain of the dagger plunging into his side so vividly…and it was his own fault…

His eyes filled with tears, and when one spilled over, the others quickly followed, trickling and streaming down his cheeks. Toothless, who had been suspiciously watching the entrance, quickly looked round when he heard Hiccup sniffling. *Hiccup?* he asked worriedly, crooning, his head-fins pinned back. He nuzzled the young man and Hiccup twisted around to hug him, burying his face in the black dragons' scales and sobbing in earnest.

Dragons couldn't cry, but when Toothless had first seen Hiccup crying (after the time they had gone to Breakneck Bog to find the gift from his dead mother, he'd cried that night whilst holding it) and sensed his distress, he'd worked out that humans leaked from their eyes when they were very sad. For a moment he wasn't sure what to do, but then he remembered that Hiccup could understand him now. *Don't be sad. Don't cry. You're safe now. I'll protect you, I promise. You're safe now, don't cry. Go to sleep. You can rest now* he told Hiccup, purring and crooning as gently as he could.

Hiccup let go and wiped at his eyes and nose with his sleeve; Toothless decided to help him clean himself up. "Eugh" he grimaced, his face now covered in dragon slobber. Still, he could tell what Toothless had been _trying_ to do, and he appreciated the gesture, so he smiled a bit. Taking this as a _thank you_ , Toothless gave him a gummy smile back, and lay down so Hiccup could rest against him. He spread one wing over his rider and tucked his tail around Hiccup in an almost hug. It wasn't long before Hiccup was fast asleep, exhausted as he was, but Toothless stayed awake for a long time.

* * *

Stoick and the others had reached Nott's Gate at last; the dragons were resting, exhausted from the long flight. The riders were sleeping as well, all but two. Stoick and Astrid were wide awake, the chief staring out in the direction of Myrkr. Astrid walked over to him and said quietly, "We will find him, Chief. We'll bring him home."

"Odin, I hope you're right. Why would he _do_ this?"

"I don't know…I get the feeling he's trying to prove himself again. You know what he's like, with his pride and everything" Astrid pointed out. Stoick sighed…surely his son knew by now that he had nothing to prove? Yet here they were…

From somewhere in the sky, they heard a squawking sound, and looked up in bewilderment. A terror came swooping in, flying a bit lopsidedly, and landed on the grass at their feet. Astrid recognised the dragon straightaway. "Sharp-Shot?"

"The Terrible Terror Hiccup trained that one time?"

"Yeah…wait, there's a note stuck on his claws. It must be from Hiccup!" Astrid quickly scooped the little dragon up, placing him on her shoulder and unfolding the note. It was too dark to read clearly, so she picked up a stick and let Sharp-Shot light it on fire, forming a small torch. "Safe. Don't come, hunters, leader crazy. Do _not_ fight them, too dangerous _._ Found Night Furies, want to study them. Give us a month. I will come home. Love, Hiccup. P.S, I'm sorry" she read aloud. Then she looked up at Stoick and asked, "Chief? What do we do now?"

Stoick frowned, though not at Astrid; he felt torn. All his fatherly instincts were telling him to go to Myrkr, find his son and drag the boy back to Berk. On the other hand…he knew how stubborn Hiccup was, how much he'd want to stay and learn about the Night Furies – so Toothless wasn't the last one after all – and if there were really hunters in Myrkr…well, he didn't doubt they could take the hunters on, but for Hiccup to warn them in advance…

He gritted his teeth. "That boy will be _grounded_ for a month when he gets back" he said at last.

Astrid's eyes went wide. "You're not saying…"

"Yes, Astrid, I am. If Hiccup wants to act like a stubborn child, and run off to Thor knows where then…then on his own head be it!" Stoick snapped. It was obvious he was still worried about his son, though. "Maybe trying to survive out there will teach him a lesson."

"Or get him killed" Astrid said quietly.

Stoick sighed, and added, "If he hasn't come to his senses and come home in a week, we'll go in search of him again."

Astrid sighed…she wanted to find Hiccup right now, just so she could yell at him for being a complete idiot and then kiss him senseless…but the chief's tone of voice wasn't one for arguing with. _Please Hiccup, please don't get hurt_ she thought desperately, looking out towards the western horizon.


	4. Questions Answered

Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD

A/N: The theme song for this chapter is 'You're the Reason' by Victoria Justice.

Chapter Four – Questions Answered

Toothless' eyes snapped open as he woke, disturbed by Hiccup shifting against him. He craned his neck round to look at his rider, who was squirming a bit and moaning quietly. He wasn't fidgeting in a trying-to-get-comfy way…it looked more like was trying to get out of something he'd gotten stuck in. *Hiccup, what's wrong?* he asked with a worried croon, shifting a bit so he could try to nuzzle the young man awake.

Hiccup just kept shifting, mumbling something that sounded like "No" and "Toothless", and finally rolled off the dragon, grabbing at thin air with a wordless yelp of alarm. He jerked awake then, panting, disoriented. *Hiccup?* Toothless asked cautiously. Hiccup twisted round to stare at him, eyes wide in fear; for a brief moment, Toothless was worried that Hiccup was afraid of _him,_ but that was quickly proven wrong. Hiccup scrambled over and wrapped his arms tightly around his dragons' neck, holding on like he didn't intend to let go any time soon. "You're alive" he whispered.

Toothless hesitated, and then did something he'd never tried before. He lifted one paw and placed it awkwardly on Hiccup's back, attempting to return the hug. *I'm alive* he agreed…and felt Hiccup stiffen.

The events of the previous night came back to Hiccup…the nightmare he'd just had and was now trying valiantly to forget, that wasn't real, but the dragons talking and everything else was. He slowly let go of Toothless and shifted to sit cross legged on the cave floor, wincing as he did so. He was aching all over. Now that he got a better look, the cave walls were covered in blue-green algae, and crawling with little glow bugs. There were so many of them, that together they made the cave light enough for him to see Toothless.

He'd been too tired and Toothless too tense to notice before, but there was a sound of running water in the cave with them…a small underground stream trickling along the side. Toothless looked at the water, and then at Hiccup, and back at the water again. *Are you thirsty?* he asked. The dragons' voice, Hiccup realised, sounded rather like his own, only deeper, smooth as ice and warm as flame.

Hiccup nodded. Toothless carefully helped him move closer to the stream, nice and slowly. Hiccup scooped some water up in his hands and drank it greedily; it tasted odd, probably from the rocks, but he ignored that. He was about to scoop up some more when he caught sight of his reflection…it was blurry, and misshapen, but he could still make out the dark bruise on his cheek.

His heartbeat picked up and he shuddered a bit. Slowly, he pulled up his tunic and tried to look at the scar on his side, _just_ below his heart. He had no idea if Hauke had intended to miss his heart, and make him suffer more, and he didn't particularly care to know. It was obvious, however, that if Hauke had aimed just a _little_ bit higher, or Toothless hadn't done…whatever he had to…then Hiccup would be dead. He'd come close to dying plenty of times, but this last time had shaken him.

He looked up at Toothless, confused but trusting, and helplessly asked, "H…How?"

*I'm sorry*. Toothless whined sadly, his wings, tail and head tucked in submissively. He looked guilty. *I'm sorry* he repeated; he knew he had to explain, Hiccup deserved that much. *Our blood – dragon blood – is…special. It gives us our long lives* he began. Hiccup was fascinated. *Different dragons live for different ages, but…Night Furies can live for…three to four hundred years.*

Now came the hard part. *If two dragons feel, in their hearts, that they…can't live without each other, there's a…ritual they can do. Heart binding…the two dragons blend their blood in each other's veins and…bind their life forces together. If one dragon is injured, the other feels their pain, and the strength of the other dragon will be shared with them and heal them faster than normal. If…one dragon dies, the dragon they are heart bound to…dies with them.

*Last night, you were dying, and I couldn't save you, so I…I bound my heart to yours. It shouldn't have worked, it's never been done with a human…but it has. I can feel it. So long as my heart is beating…so will yours* Toothless admitted. It was more than just Hiccup being alive, and understanding him...he felt _something_ deep in his core that told him they were inextricably connected now.

Hiccup felt the same way…neither of them could quite express it, the feeling went beyond words…it was overwhelming, and yet comforting at the same time. Hiccup closed his eyes, trying to wrap his head around the idea of living for three or four hundred years. He couldn't…it was just too big. His emotions flared and wavered…relief at being alive, guilt at leaving home…sadness at the thought of outliving everyone else he knew…and joy at the thought of not having to leave Toothless alone.

His entire world, his whole life would be turned upside down by this…but there was one thing he was certain of. He looked up at Toothless again, and reached a hand out; the dragon leaned forward and pressed his muzzle against it. "I'm not mad" he said softly, petting Toothless, who squeaked in surprise.

*You forgive me?* he asked. Hiccup had forgiven him for having to bite his foot and making him lose it, and Hiccup was a forgiving person, but Toothless had worried that he might not forgive _this_. Toothless disliked 'might' and 'if'.

"I can't" Hiccup replied, but he was still smiling, "I never blamed you in the first place. You saved my _life,_ Toothless. Thank you. You are amazing" he beamed, holding Toothless' head affectionately. Toothless stretched his mouth into a gummy smile and nuzzled his rider, purring and crooning with joy. He was so happy that the 'might' had become an 'is', and a good 'is' at that.

The two of them settled back down to sleep; the more they rested, the sooner Hiccup would heal. Toothless thought he was very silly and stubborn to want to stay with the Night Furies when they could have been taken home – even if Toothless disliked being carried – but here they were. Toothless would follow Hiccup to the ends of the earth, and if Hiccup wanted to gain the trust of the Night Furies, then Toothless would help him.

* * *

The newly heart bound pair were awoken hours later, by the smell of fish. A pile of fish lay on the ground several feet away from where they'd curled up beside the stream, and beside it were several broken branches. The Night Furies might have disliked Hiccup, but at least one of them seemed to realise he couldn't eat raw fish. They crawled over to the pile; Hiccup snapped the branches into smaller pieces and built a fire, which Toothless obligingly lit, and speared several fish on a particularly sharp stick.

Whilst he waited for the fish to roast, the mouth-watering scent filling the cavern, he asked, "Do you know what this cave is for?"

Toothless struggled to remember. *I think it's a healing cavern* he replied. When Hiccup just looked puzzled, he explained, *If some dragon was injured and couldn't fly, they could rest in here until they had healed.*

He heard and scented another dragon's approach and his eyes fixed on the entrance, pupils narrowing. Shadow stepped into the cave, looking at his brother and ignoring Hiccup entirely. *Hello, Midnight. When you've eaten, Black Fire and I will take you and the human to the Queen* he told Toothless, who bristled.

*My rider's name is Hiccup* he said with a pointed stare, *And I haven't been called Midnight in twenty years. I go by Toothless now.*

Shadow's eyes widened, his pupils narrowing. *You're not serious. Don't tell me that 'Toothless' is the name it gave you.*

*Hiccup is not an 'it', Shadow* Toothless gave a small growl of annoyance, *Now go away and let us eat.*

Shadow glared at him. *We'll be waiting outside* he said at last, before turning and leaving the cavern. Toothless grumbled, glaring at the entrance until he felt Hiccup's hand scratch under his chin, and he purred almost involuntarily.

"I'm sorry about your brother" Hiccup said apologetically, feeling bad that he was the reason Toothless and Shadow were so at odds.

*Don't be. It's not your fault that my brother is an egg-for-brain.* Hiccup figured that was a dragon insult and stifled a giggle. He gingerly poked at the cooking fish and winced as the heat burned his finger. They seemed to be done, at any rate, so he carefully split them open – not an easy task without a knife – and waited for the white flesh inside to cool down enough for him to eat it.

A thought occurred to him, and he hesitantly asked, "Um, Toothless?"

*Yes, Hiccup?*

"Uh, I just wondered…do you…want me to call you Midnight?"

Toothless stared at him as if he'd asked the most ridiculous question the Night Fury had ever heard. *Why would I want that?*

"Well, it's your _name_. Your real name" Hiccup pointed out, with a twinge of irrational guilt. He'd had no reason to suspect that dragons gave themselves names – and Toothless wouldn't have been able to say his name if Hiccup had asked – but he still felt rather bad about naming his dragon without asking for said dragon's opinion on the matter.

*Yes, but you didn't know that* the Night Fury pointed out, *Before I learned _your_ name I just called you 'small scared thing' and 'curious'. I used to think my name was 'Night Fury' because it's what I heard yelled out during the raids. I didn't remember my old name so when you gave me a new one I just got used to it. Besides, I think the only reason I was called Midnight is because I was born in the middle of the night* he explained.

"Yeah, but…are you sure you don't mind?" Hiccup questioned, still uncomfortable. He was leaning back against Toothless, and the dragon could feel how tense he was. Why was he still upset? Toothless had turned the questioning 'if' into a good 'what', but Hiccup still had questions – nothing new there – and he was still uncomfortable.

*No. Now eat your fish* he insisted. In the back of his mind, he thought he heard a familiar sounding female voice say much the same thing. It must have been his mother… Hiccup sighed and did as he was told, but he was _still_ upset, and Toothless grew impatient. *What's wrong?*

Hiccup swallowed a mouthful of fish and lied, "Nothing."

*Yes, there is. You're upset. What's upsetting you?*

"Toothless, I'm not upset." Why did Hiccup keep trying to lie to him? Hiccup never lied to him, and Hiccup wasn't a very good liar anyway. Toothless didn't growl; he just rumbled, almost a growl but not quite.

*You're lying. You're upset. You're so tense. You can't fool a dragon* he insisted, when Hiccup tried to protest.

Hiccup ate some more of the fish, trying to get his thoughts in order. Of course Toothless would notice something was bothering him; dragons were better at reading body language than humans. It was how they communicated….except now, it wasn't. That was the problem.

"You can talk" he said at last, after eating most of the fish and giving the remains to his dragon. He wasn't sure if the way the dragons spoke could be described as talking – it was more like they were literally thinking out loud – but it was close enough.

*Does that upset you?*

"No, no. It's incredible" he smiled reassuringly, "Being able to understand you…it's just…you talk like a human. You understand human speech, and…we've been treating you like pets."

*And?*

"Well, it…it's not _fair._ We make you sleep in pens and carry us around on your backs instead of…treating you like _people._ "

*Of course it's fair. You let us sleep in or beside your wood caves and you groom us and care about us and protect us from hunters and each other. Letting you ride on our backs and protecting you is the least we can do. You and the other humans are part of our pack now. Packs stick together.*

It was touching to learn that Toothless and the other dragons considered him and his friends part of their pack. "Thanks, buddy" he smiled, petting Toothless' nose and relaxing. Satisfied that his rider was happy again, Toothless lapped up some water and reminded Hiccup to eat the rest of his fish.

Once Hiccup had finished the second fish and drank a little bit more water, he used Toothless as a crutch to pull himself up. Once he was standing upright, his legs shook, but he still tried to take a step forward. Naturally, he stumbled, and Toothless steadied him as usual. *Climb on* he prompted.

Hiccup hesitated. "Err…the other dragons might not like that" he said cautiously, "Me riding you, I mean."

*Who cares?* Toothless rolled his eyes, *You can bother them by sitting on my back, or you can bother them by having to move slowly because you can't walk. Your choice* he declared. Hiccup sighed and climbed onto his back, ignoring his dragon laughing. Once he was settled, Toothless carried him out of the cave, cautiously poking his head out and looking around.

Shadow and one of the Furies from the hunting party, the one with orange yellow eyes who must have been Black Fire, were lying nearby. *It's about time* Black Fire complained, getting to his feet and stretching.

* * *

Toothless followed his brother and Black Fire through the tunnels, which were lit – somewhat – by the glow bugs and shafts of moonlight that fell in through tunnels above their heads. Was it still night-time? Hiccup felt like he'd been asleep long enough for it to be day by now.

They were led towards the entrance to a cave. Shadow and Black Fire stepped aside, and Shadow motioned for Toothless to enter first. He did so, and Hiccup looked around and felt his jaw drop. It was no mere cave; it was a massive cavern, the caldera of the ancient volcano, moonlight streaming in from the distant opening far above his head. In the shadows around him were many pairs of eyes, in every shade of yellow and green – even the occasional blue. Four years of wanting to find more Night Furies…he'd gotten his wish and then some.

Layers of long cooled magma formed ledges on which the Furies could perch. On the biggest of these ledges, directly opposite the odd pair, stood a female Night Fury with iridescent scales who commanded respect and obedience with her very presence. Her golden eyes bore into them; whilst Hiccup was merely awed by the sight of her, Toothless was nearly cowed. Old instincts were telling him to show submission to his Queen, his Alpha, but instincts could not always be trusted, so he ignored them.

He tried to meet her gaze head on, but he couldn't hold it, and his eyes slid from the Queen to the Fury standing beside her. A smaller female, with the brightest, most sapphire blue eyes he'd ever seen…and he noticed, to his surprise, that her pupils were rounded, as she stared at him and Hiccup with open curiosity. He assumed she was the Queen-to-be; then the Queen herself stepped forward and stretched out her wings, and he lost sight of the female with those startlingly bright blue eyes.

*Who are you?* the Queen demanded; Toothless pulled himself back into the present and replied, *Toothless-Hiccup, of the pack of Berk.* There was a flurry of hisses and mutters when he introduced himself and his rider; probably at his new name, or him introducing them as a heart bound pair, or him declaring Hiccup part of his pack. Not that he cared what they thought. Hiccup slipped off his back and stood, in a manner of speaking, beside him; he curled his tail possessively and protectively around the man.

The Queen looked around the cavern, and everyone submissively fell silent. *Why did you bring a human into our territory? Do you not remember our law?* she asked, mantling her wings once more.

*No, your Majesty, I don't* Toothless admitted. Calling the Queen 'Majesty' was a compromise; respectful, but he refused to call her his Queen, or his Alpha, because she wasn't his alpha. He'd had enough of Queens and Alphas to last him a lifetime. *We came here because a human visited our home and told us that Night Furies had attacked a ship off this coast.

*For the last four years, Hiccup thought I was the last Night Fury, so when he heard there might be more of us out here, he wanted to find them. When we arrived, we were ambushed and captured by hunters who had heard the same story. Their leader recognised my rider; he wanted Hiccup to train his captured dragons for war, but Hiccup refused because my rider does _not harm dragons._ They threw me in a pit and beat my rider for trying to help the dragons instead of them.* He looked over his shoulder at Hiccup and added, *You should show them.*

Hiccup took a deep breath, and pulled his tunic up, so the Queen and the other Furies could see the bruises littering his chest, stomach and back. There were more surprised gasps and hisses; the blue eyed Queen-to-be exclaimed aloud *That's awful!*, in a melodic voice that echoed in Toothless' ears. He tried to focus, not knowing why he was getting so distracted by her.

*Quiet, Selena* the Queen ordered disapprovingly, before admitting, *Although I agree, this is disturbing. I want no one to approach these hunters; we will watch them, and defend our nest, but we won't risk capture. Is that clear?* she demanded to the pack as a whole. There was a chorus of * _Yes, my Queen*,_ and the Queen turned her piercing golden eyes on Toothless-Hiccup once more. *Continue* she instructed simply.

*The hunter's leader decided Hiccup would be too much trouble and stabbed him. Hiccup was dying and I had to save him, so I heart bound to him. I don't know why it worked, I'm just grateful that it did* Toothless explained, before adding, *Of course, none of this would have happened if that one ship hadn't been attacked…so this is really all your fault* he reasoned, looking around at the pack.

Hiccup spoke for the first time. "Uh, Toothless, we need them to _like_ us."

*Yes, but I'm right.*

"Thank you for nothing, you useless reptile" Hiccup deadpanned, but there was a smile tugging at his lips.

*Thank _you_ for nothing, you stupid human* Toothless retorted playfully.

* **Enough** * the Queen commanded. Toothless obeyed without question, lowering his head submissively for the first time, and whilst Hiccup wasn't affected by the Queen's will he still clamped his lips together. *I should turn you both out before the hunters search for you here and you endanger us all" she told them, before fixing her gaze on Hiccup. *Shadow told me that you sent a message to humans searching for you and told them not to find you. Why would you do that?*

"…I did it because…if I could show my people that dragons aren't the monsters they once thought you were, I can show you that humans aren't all bad either. I know there are bad humans, like hunters and trappers, and I hate them; but I know humans who care about dragons just as much as I do. Besides…I wanted to give Toothless a chance to spend time with his own kind" Hiccup explained, before adding, "I asked them to give me a month. Just…please, just give me a chance."

*Please, your majesty* Toothless pleaded; part of him was annoyed that he was acting so submissively, but he couldn't help it. *It might not even be for a month; Hiccup is stronger than he looks. Just let us stay long enough for him to heal, and for us to fix my tail, and then we'll leave. I promise, we'll leave and we won't come back to Myrkr. We'll leave you in peace.*

*You can promise all you like* said Shadow; they'd forgotten he was there. *Humans talk, and if this human tells others about our nest, more humans will hear of it and come to find us and hunt us. You're not here because we attacked a ship invading our sea territory; you're here because _one_ human survived and told others and word spread and the hunters came from down the coast. How can you have forgotten our law, Midnight? Humans in our territory must be killed on sight, before they can reveal us!

*How could you have forgotten what happened when we were fledglings?* he demanded, snarling in anger and remembered pain, *How could you let a human enslave you when humans are the ones who killed our father?*

*Not all humans are the same, Shadow!* Toothless snarled right back, *For the last time, I am not enslaved. I've _been_ enslaved, unlike you, I know how it feels. _That's_ why I forgot your stupid human killing 'law'. I spent fifteen _moon-damned years_ under the thrall of a ruthless, monstrous _cannibal!_ * he shrieked, shouting in thought-speak and charging a plasma blast at the same time.

The Queen was about to command them to **cease** , but the human spoke before she could. "Hold, Toothless!" he yelled, reaching an arm under his dragons jaw and tugging. At the sound of his riders voice, Toothless' rage vanished; he turned his head and pressed it against Hiccup's chest, sensitive ears picking up the young man's heartbeat. It filled the gaps between his own, the beats running together like their heart bound names. Toothless' heart, Hiccup's heart, Toothless, Hiccup, Toothless-Hiccup…..

"Shh, shh, it's okay" Hiccup whispered soothingly, stroking his head and neck and murmuring "It's okay, everything's fine. I'm right here. It's okay". The pack watched silently as the enemy, the human in their midst, calmed and gentled one of their own, who mere moments earlier had looked ready to blast his own flesh and blood.

When Toothless had calmed down, he glanced up at the Queen and said contritely, *I'm…sorry, your majesty. I overreacted.*

*I am sorry, my Queen* Shadow added; he had lost his temper as well, after all. He pushed it down but his anger hadn't frozen…it was burning even hotter as he watched his own long-lost brother find comfort in the embrace of that _human._

*Do not do it again* she instructed, but she didn't punish them – there were bigger things to worry about. Toothless and Hiccup waited for her to tell them they were banished; they would find a hiding place and Toothless would defend Hiccup to their last breath, and if those hunters found them he would tear the monsters apart and he'd eat them if he didn't think they would poison him.

Yet to their surprise, the Queen did not banish them. *I will give you a chance* she told Hiccup, *And allow you to stay here and recover; you are no threat, but if you break more of our laws, either of you, or betray us, I will send you out and you may never return. Is that clear?*

"*Yes, your majesty*" Toothless and Hiccup answered as one. Shadow looked like he wanted to argue, but didn't dare, a sentiment shared by many in the pack.

*Good. You will be guarded, for your own sake and the sake of the pack* the Queen informed them, before lifting her head and calling *Nocte, Skylancer, Dusk!*

Three male Furies swooped down one by one to surround Toothless and Hiccup; one with pine-green eyes, one with sky-blue eyes and one with yellow eyes. *I am entrusting you to guard and provide for…Toothless, and Hiccup* the Queen instructed the three new Furies, before telling Toothless and Hiccup, *You may stay in the empty healing cavern you slept in yesterday. We are done here* she announced, with a finality that brooked no disagreement.

Toothless and Hiccup each gave a small bow, ducking their heads submissively. "*Thank you*" they said gratefully. Then Toothless nudged Hiccup to remind him he was too weak to walk, and Hiccup heaved himself into the saddle and tried to ignore the stares he was getting, and they returned to the cavern they'd been sleeping in before. It appeared that they had slept through the whole day, or at least Hiccup had, so he couldn't believe he was still tired.

Nocte, Skylancer and Dusk waited outside, after offering to bring more fish and wood for when the pair awoke. Hiccup was glad they all had different coloured eyes because he was a bit worried he wouldn't be able to tell the difference between most of the Night Furies. They settled down in what seemed to be their spot, at the back of the cave near the underground stream, and relaxed. They didn't have to go out into the forests where the hunters were lying-in-wait, they could rest now and figure out how to get back home later.

Toothless shifted his shoulders, squirming a little. "What's wrong?" asked Hiccup, with a concerned frown.

*Nothing, just an itch.*

"Under your saddle?" guessed Hiccup, motioning for Toothless to stand up so that he could disassemble the contraption; it was a bit of a pain to get off, and since they wouldn't be flying he figured he'd just leave it aside. He'd been meaning to redesign it, but there was only so much he could do when he needed a specialised left stirrup and a way to control the artificial tail-fin. Not for the first time, he wished that they'd met under slightly better circumstances, and not lost any body parts.

Once the saddle, harness and remains of the tail fin were all off, Toothless lay down beside Hiccup once more, purring in contentment as his rider dug fingernails into his scales and scratched hard. It wasn't long before he felt Hiccup's head resting on his back as well, and the scratching stopped and he knew his rider had fallen asleep. Toothless looked over his shoulder at his other half and smiled a toothless smile, before wrapping a wing and his tail around Hiccup and resting his head on his paws.

* * *

A/N: I think I'm getting cavities from all the Toothless-Hiccup friendship fluff ;) In case it wasn't clear, heart bound pairs introduce themselves with their names put together, like they're one being.


	5. Curses and Curiosity

Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD

A/N: The song for this chapter is 'You Got Me' by Gavin Degraw. It's a beautiful song, I highly recommend giving it a listen : ). Thanks for the follows, favourites and reviews ;) It means a lot to know that people like this story in spite of its flaws ;)

Chapter Five – Curses and Curiosity

Several things had occurred whilst Hiccup slept, watched over by Toothless. Early that morning, around the very time Sharp-Shot was on his way to deliver Hiccup's hastily scribbled letter to his friends, Hauke was waking from slumber. He dressed, ate and walked out to the cages and the pit, glaring at the beasts who snarled at him and shaking his sword threateningly until they flinched and backed down. Good – the sooner they learned who to obey, the easier they would be to break in.

Part of him regretted not keeping the so called Dragon Master alive; impatience was his biggest flaw, he knew. He'd always had a short temper…like when he'd grown tired of waiting for his father to step down as chief, so he'd taken matters into his own hands. Hauke knew that if he'd waited and pushed the boy enough, perhaps even hurt the Night Fury although he'd been reluctant to harm such a rare and valuable specimen, Hiccup would have broken.

Still, Hauke was also stubborn, and he stood by his conviction that even if Hiccup had broken, he wouldn't have _stayed_ beaten down. Besides, his allies were no doubt on their way to rescue him…instead they would find his men waiting for them, and no doubt they'd be easier to break than Hiccup. Then there was the Night Fury. He expected the beast to fight, to rage and try to burn them all; he was prepared to let it languish in the pit with only the bones of its former master for company until it gave up and obeyed him.

He expected, when he reached the pit, to find the Night Fury huddled over the bled out corpse; to be roared and blasted at by the enraged winged demon. What he didn't expect was to find the pit completely _empty._ He could see blood staining the ground, smeared in one spot and splattered in another…but the 30 foot deep pit that his men had slaved over digging, to house any dragon they felt was too dangerous to be kept in a mere cage, was conspicuously absent of either Night Fury or dead rider.

For a moment, Hauke could only stare open-mouthed. Then anger boiled within him, and he turned and yelled at the top of his lungs at anyone listening, "WHERE ARE THEY?!"

His men came running; they too were shocked at the sight of the empty pit. Hauke swore and cursed; he should have left someone on guard, Odin damn it! He hadn't thought he _needed_ to, the dragon couldn't climb out of the pit – though gods knew it had tried – and Hiccup should have died…he checked the grate and found that it was closed, but not locked. Someone had opened it and let them out!

Of course, none of the hunters admitted to committing this crime. Every single one of them swore up and down that they hadn't let the Night Fury and its rider escape, no matter how many heads he smashed together. Eventually, Hauke had to accept that his men hadn't let the pair escape…but then how had they got out? Frustrated, he looked over the pit again for any clues, trying to reason it out.

He could see claw marks in the dirt where the dragon had dragged itself up to the bars. It occurred to him that if the dragon stood on its hind legs, and Hiccup stood on its shoulders, he would be able to reach the grate. Was it possible, he wondered, that the boy hadn't died as quickly as he'd expected? Had Hiccup somehow staunched his wound, and escaped with his dragon into the wilderness?

The hunter-chief could see no reason why or how he would do that. Yet if none of his men had turned traitor…the only thing left to conclude was that Hiccup and his dragon had escaped by themselves. Immediately, he set about tracking them…sure enough, there were footprints leading away from the pit into the forests, towards the mountains. Only Night Fury prints, so Hiccup must have been riding.

Hauke and several of his men – he left the rest to guard the camp – followed the tracks through the forest. He was glad he'd ruined the dragons' fake tail-fin; without the ability to fly, it was helpless, and no doubt by now its rider was dead. Night Furies moved faster on foot than humans, but at last they reached a clearing close to the foothills, where more sets of prints joined the first, also Night Fury prints. In spite of his anger, Hauke grinned a malicious grin that in no way reached his eyes.

The tracks led them further to a large mountain, an ancient volcano scored with long-cooled lava. The trail ended behind one such tongue of lava; the earth had collapsed in on itself, but the dirt was fresh. "This happened recently" he deduced, "It's deliberate. The dragon must have brought him to a cave or a tunnel, and he ordered it to blast the entrance to try and hide."

One of his underlings cleared his throat nervously. When Hauke stared at him, but didn't immediately rebuke him, the hunter nervously questioned, "Um, sir, wouldn't that mean they wouldn't be able to breathe?"

"He shouldn't have _been_ breathing by then" Hauke muttered; aloud, he answered, "Perhaps he meant to have his precious dragon die with him; he probably thought it was a mercy to the beast rather than leave it in our hands. I'm almost inclined to agree."

"Should we dig them out?" another hunter inquired. Hauke was tempted to say yes; he was almost certain that this was the Night Fury's nest, the beasts had led him right to it. At the very least, he could retrieve a Night Fury body and mount its head. Nevertheless, he controlled his impatience and replied, "No."

Naturally, the hunters were surprised, but of course they had the sense not to say anything. They didn't need to; Hauke continued, "There are many dragons here; and I'm sure this is the Night Fury nest, but I want to be _certain._ We're going to do what we do best, and I want this place _watched._ The moment we confirm that Night Furies are living here…we attack."

* * *

To call Shadow displeased would be an understatement. He paced back and forth across his cave, accompanied by his mate, Eclipse, and his best friend Black Fire. *We should have left it out in the forest* he snarled in frustration, *The sentries spotted those hunters come right to the tunnel – they tracked that human right to us! If I hadn't gone back and caused a cave in, they would have gotten into the nest.* The fact that the hunters had in fact been tracking Toothless and the other Night Furies was conveniently ignored.

*We should have killed it* Eclipse retorted sourly. She had nearly been captured by humans who pretended to be friendly, just like this runt Hiccup was doing, to lure her into a trap. Her parents had died saving her, and her fledgling-hood fear of humans had long since become outright mistrust and hatred. As far as she was concerned, humans were dangerous whether they looked like it or not.

Likewise, Shadow was all but repulsed by the idea of befriending a fireless weakling who was no match for a dragon like them…but he still growled irritably at Eclipse and snapped *I _would_ have, if it weren't for...by the Moon, how could Midnight have _heart bound_ to a _human_?*

*It is strange that the ritual worked on it* Black Fire mused. He had heard of dragons of different kinds heart binding, but never of a dragon heart binding to any other creature but a dragon. It was unheard of…what sort of human was this? Was it even human at all?

*That's not what I meant!* cried Shadow *I mean yes, it is strange, but how could he choose the human who captured him and keeps him as a _pet_ to be his life companion? He lets it stroke him and ride on his back like the riding-beasts humans use…he let it take away his dignity!*

Eclipse moved to nuzzle him reassuringly. *Don't worry. The Queen may have been swayed by the humans' weakness, but she chose my cousin Dusk to guard the human and your… _dear_ brother* she said with false sweetness. Shadow gritted his teeth at that remark; Midnight (he refused to use the new, ridiculous name) had made it clear he considered the _human_ more of a brother than Shadow himself. *Dusk will let us know when the human slips up and reveals his true nature…we are hunting, that's all. A slow stalk…and when the time is right, we'll lunge for the kill*.

* * *

A day and most of a night passed, and some more of the next day before Hiccup woke once more. For a while he didn't move, content to simply lie against Toothless and think about everything that had happened. He still felt guilt twist in his stomach when he thought of the captive dragons they'd had to leave behind. He wondered if Sharp-Shot had successfully delivered his note – he had faith in the little guy, Sharp-Shot had never let him down in the past – and whether his father and friends would actually listen to him.

He wasn't sure what he'd do if they did come for him. The sensible thing to do would be to go home with them…but for some reason, Hiccup almost didn't want to. He missed home, of course, but he wanted to give Toothless a chance to spend time with his own kind. He wanted to see if he could show the Night Furies that not all humans were out to get them…he could tell that they were, at most, tolerating his presence because he was heart bound to Toothless, and they didn't want to risk killing one of their own.

Dragons were far cleverer – or at the very least, Night Furies were far cleverer – than he'd ever dreamed. Coming from him, someone who had known since he was fourteen that dragons were incredible, intelligent creatures, that was saying something. Being able to understand them, that was by far one of the best things about the heart bind…that, and the near indescribable feeling of _belonging_ he felt deep in his soul. He was unutterably grateful to Toothless for saving his life, and whilst he knew it would take a lot of getting used to, he didn't regret being heart bound for a moment.

Not long after both he and Toothless were both awake, one of the Night Furies that the Queen had asked to guard them entered the cave. Toothless immediately started to get to his feet, but Hiccup stilled him with a hand on his shoulder. If they wanted to be accepted by the pack, they couldn't treat every Night Fury like a potential enemy; it was just like training any dragon – should he still call it 'training'? – It was all about trust.

He smiled nervously at the blue eyed Night Fury and cleared his throat. "Um, hello…Skylancer?" he greeted, the name becoming a question since he was guessing. The dragon looked rather surprised that Hiccup knew his name.

*Skylancer, yes. Hello…* the dragon replied after a moment or so, *Are you hungry?*

Hiccup's stomach answered the question for him; he blushed and replied, "Uh, yes."

*Very well; we'll bring you both something to eat. Is there anything you _can't_ eat?* Skylancer asked Hiccup. _At least he's not calling me an it or 'the human'_ Hiccup thought, deciding that he liked Skylancer.

"Uh, not really – except raw meat, and half chewed meat – uh, not that there's anything wrong with you guys eating that, cos you're dragons and that's what you do, it's just that" – Toothless, with a roll of his eyes, stopped his rider's word vomit by lightly smacking him in the face with his tailfin. *We'll need firewood, please* he reminded Skylancer, lowering his tail.

Skylancer gave a dragon-smile purr and left the cave. "He seems nice enough" Hiccup remarked after he'd gone.

*I suppose.*

"See? Not all the Night Furies hate me. This isn't going to be as difficult as you think" Hiccup smiled. Toothless looked down at him with his best 'are you kidding me' look, a stare he'd had much practice at what with the usual antics of Hiccup's fellow humans on Berk. Hiccup just smiled at him, so Toothless smiled back and nuzzled him lightly. *Go on* he prompted with an amused purr.

"What?"

*I know you. You have questions, you _always_ have questions.*

"Can you blame me?" Hiccup grinned, trying to decide what to ask first; not an easy choice. "Okay, first things first…how are you actually talking? I mean, your mouth isn't moving, it's like I'm hearing your voice coming from your head. You've got a nice voice, by the way" he complimented, "It's sort of like mine, only…older."

*Well, I _am_ older than you* Toothless pointed out, before explaining, *It's called thought-speak. We can choose to project our thoughts, but we can talk without words too. Our scent tells others so much; who we are, who we know, how we feel, where we've just been or what we've been doing. Our sounds and signals show who or what we're feeling for, and why, and how strongly. Thought-speak is for everything else. The secret is intent; if we don't intend our thoughts to be heard, they won't be.*

"Must make it easy to keep secrets" Hiccup mused, before something occurred to him. "Have you guys been talking to us all this time without us knowing?"

Toothless looked sheepish. *We talked around you…and about you, because we knew you couldn't hear us. Like I said, our sounds show how we're feeling, but we can make them on purpose to get human's attention. You were always pretty good at guessing what I was trying to say, more or less.*

"Huh…" Hiccup smiled thoughtfully, before asking "So how old are you, anyway?"

*Sixty winters, which is young for a dragon; you see my jaw nubs?* He tilted his head to give Hiccup a better look at the scaly flaps on the underside of his jaw, *The first pair stop growing when we're fifteen and full grown, and then we grow smaller pairs every fifteen years. I'm not sure if other dragons have a way to tell their ages, though.*

"We can always ask" Hiccup suggested, inwardly jumping for joy. He could _ask!_

*I guess so.*

Then Hiccup suddenly realised something else. "Wait…last night , you said you'd…you'd been under the Red Death's control for fifteen years…we stopped the Red Death when I was fifteen, so…so you must have been under her control…you must have come to our archipelago the year I was born" he worked out, an excited grin on his face. What were the odds?

Toothless blinked in surprise; that had never occurred to him. He was intelligent enough to take what he'd learned and use it, but Hiccup had found a thread between them that his dragon had never realised was there. It seemed so _obvious_ now. *I never thought of that* he admitted, giving Hiccup an affectionate nuzzle, *You're very clever.*

"Aw, thanks, buddy; so are you" Hiccup smiled, scratching behind his ear fins and making him purr. Just then, Skylancer padded into the cave, with a large chunk of red meat in his jaws. He dropped it close to Toothless, who used his sharp claws and teeth to tear off some strips of flesh for Hiccup to cook and eat. The yellow eyed Night Fury – Dusk, wasn't it? – followed Skylancer into the cave, his mouth full of branches that he dropped in front of Hiccup.

"Thanks" Hiccup smiled politely. Dusk just looked at him rather coldly and backed away, before turning and leaving the cave. Hiccup sighed…he'd known from the beginning that this wouldn't be easy, but the rejection stung a bit. He put it out of his mind and concentrated on properly cooking the meat – he supposed it was deer or ram. The last thing he wanted was to get sick from eating raw flesh.

"Hey, Toothless?" he asked, and his dragon looked up from his own meal, "Last night, when we were…summoned, I guess, before the Queen…when you introduced us you put our names together, Toothless-Hiccup, why'd you do that?"

*I remembered…that's how heart bound pairs introduce themselves, like they're one dragon…or maybe, two dragons with a single name* the Night Fury explained over a mouthful of deer meat; that was a benefit of thought-speak, you could talk with your mouth full. *My name didn't have to be first, but it seemed like it would be easier for you to say it that way round.*

Hiccup tried mouthing and murmuring their combined name, over and over, and decided he liked the sound of it. Whilst he was chewing the strips of venison, he thought of another question and tentatively asked, "Um…you said that you forgot the Night Fury law about… killing humans because of the Red Death…what did she, err, it, do to you?"

Toothless sighed. *You know how curious we dragons can be* he reminded Hiccup, *The pack may want to know how we met, and then I can tell everyone at once. For now…let's just say you almost did me a favour, shooting me down that night.*

"Yeah, sorry" Hiccup grimaced, eyeing Toothless' single tailfin out of the corner of his eye, "I'm glad I met you, buddy, but I…kind of wish it had been under better circumstances."

*I'm glad I met you too* Toothless replied with a purring dragon-smile. Soon they'd both eaten and drunk their fill, and washed hands and jaws clean of blood in the river that rushed through their cavern into the depths of the earth. Toothless sat watching the entrance to the cave, ever-vigilant…then he felt Hiccup pushing against him. *What are you doing?*

"Standing…" Hiccup replied, using his dragon as a crutch to drag himself to his feet. His limbs shook a bit, and his left leg ached where the stump met his prosthetic. With a determined gleam in his eye, he took a step forward with his right foot. So far, so good…then he let go of Toothless, and took a step with his peg leg, and staggered. Toothless caught him, of course, and chided *Hiccup, you need to _rest._ *

His rider groaned, frustrated, and complained "But I can't just sit around all day…or night …I guess it doesn't really matter in the caves, but still!"

*You mean you're bored* Toothless decided, even as he crouched slowly so that Hiccup dropped down with him.

"No, I'm not" Hiccup insisted stubbornly, "I just need to practice walking, stretch my legs a bit, y'know?"

*You can't even stand up on your own* Toothless pointed out, with a very small growl – little more than a rumbling in his chest – when Hiccup opened his mouth to protest. *You were badly hurt and you need to rest so you can get better. Why would you try to walk?* he asked, genuinely not understanding.

Hiccup sighed, and reluctantly admitted, "It's just…we couldn't help those other dragons, and I know I need to rest, but…it's all made me feel pretty…helpless, and… _weak._ "

Toothless nuzzled him reassuringly and told him, *You're not weak; you just need to rest for now. You have plenty of time to stand up and walk.* Hiccup smiled and hugged his dragon, thanking him without words. Toothless placed a paw on his back, returning the gesture – he'd learned a new trick by himself, and he was very proud of it. He took Hiccup's mind off things by describing what the dragon kinds called each other; they were a lot more to the point than the Viking names. Swift-Wing, Spike-Tail, Fire-Scale, Twin-Head, Rock-Tail…

Skylancer came into the cave soon after and told them, *We're to bring you to the gathering place again. The Queen-to-be wishes to hear how you befriended a human* he told Toothless, before adding in Hiccup's direction, *and the Elders believe there may be a clue as to how you could possibly heart bind.*

The heart bound pair glanced at one another, and nodded. "Right now?" asked Hiccup, and when Skylancer said yes, he added "Gimme a minute."

Skylancer waited for Toothless to stand, helping Hiccup to his feet – well, foot – as he did so, and waited as the human heaved himself onto Toothless' back. It was an odd sight, the human atop a fellow Fury's back…Skylancer felt it was wrong to be ridden, unless you were carrying a tired fledgling…but it didn't seem to bother Toothless, so he didn't say anything.


	6. Telling Stories

Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD

A/N: The song for this chapter is 'Feels Just Like Home' from Brother Bear 2. Please feel free to recommend songs if you know a good friendship song or dragon-themed song :)

Chapter Six – Telling Stories

The caldera, or gathering place as the Night Furies called it, was no less impressive by daylight. Night Furies – Swift-Wings - hovered overhead, or perched on ledges or in the tunnels that snaked throughout the mountain and its caves. Once more, Toothless and Hiccup found themselves standing before the Queen…and once more, Toothless felt his gaze sliding towards to the Queen-to-be, with her sapphire eyes that looked at him and his rider with curiosity instead of distrust or scorn.

Hiccup felt nervous…the dragons weren't going to be happy when they found out _he_ was the reason Toothless was missing a tailfin. Toothless sensed his nervousness and took the lead when the Queen asked them to begin. *Twenty years ago, I flew out from this mountain and went south west. I followed the winds, and I flew into a trap… set by another dragon. A Red Death…her hypnotic call lured me in and took over my mind. I couldn't disobey or fly back home…days passed, then seasons, then years, and I…I forgot my old life. I forgot I had lived here, forgot my family…I even forgot my own name.*

He nudged Hiccup, prompting the Viking to clear his throat and explain, "Um, the same year Toothless was hypnotised, I was born on the island of Berk. It's cold and harsh, and most people would have left, especially with all the dragons raiding us…but we Vikings are really stubborn" he joked a bit, but the dragons were silent. He hurriedly continued. "I didn't really fit in, at all. Where I come from, its tradition to name the runt of a litter 'the hiccup', which is how I got stuck with my oh-so-charming name…stupid names are kind of a thing where I come from.

"Everyone in the village was strong and tough and a great fighter…except for me. I was…just a nuisance. Even my dad wished I wasn't…me, and he's the chief…so yeah, I was kind of a disappointment" he shrugged. He'd mostly gotten over it all, but it still hurt to think about that time of his life. "I just wanted to prove myself, you know, be one of them…and I…I'm ashamed to say this now, but back then, I thought the only way to do that would be to…." He took a deep breath and admitted, "Kill a dragon."

He flinched almost instinctively, half expecting to be blasted on the spot. Yet at most there were growls, and the stares were already accusing, so he swallowed hard and pushed on. "Uh, so one night when I was fifteen, I went out in the middle of a dragon raid – not the smartest move, I know – and tried to shoot down a dragon with this, um, bolas launcher I'd built, and I…uh…I hit…I caught Toothless."

*He has great aim* Toothless declared proudly, but his own pride in himself made him add, *I still think he got lucky, though. I crash landed on his island…a tree smashed to pieces when I hit it and…one of the sharper pieces of wood sliced my tailfin off* he revealed, immediately adopting a protective stance when the growls grew louder and a few snarls were heard. *Let me finish!*

* **Silence** * the Queen commanded, and all obeyed. Toothless looked at her with gratitude, but she merely stared impassively at him with those piercing golden eyes, so he quickly continued, *Yes, the crash was bad, but in a way it was good. The crash jarred me out of my hypnosis. I couldn't remember anything about my life before _her…_ but my mind felt clear for the first time in fifteen years. In a way, Hiccup did me a favour, shooting me down that night.*

"No one believed what I'd done, so the next day I set out on my own to find Toothless – well, I hadn't named him then, obviously. When I finally found him, I…I nearly…" he swallowed hard and said, "But I didn't. I couldn't, even though it would have made everyone stop treating me like I was useless. I looked at him, I looked in his eyes and I realised…he was just as frightened as I was. I realised, if being one of them meant killing a helpless, scared creature…I didn't want to be one of them after all. So…I cut him loose instead."

*Then I pinned him* Toothless picked up matter-of-factly, *I could have killed him, and he knew that, but he let me go anyway. Besides, I could tell he was a…whatever human fledglings are called…and a small one, at that…and he _had_ spared me, so I spared him. I just roared at him to make him stay away and flew off…or tried to, anyway. I ended up getting stuck in a cove, and just my luck, this skinny little human fledgling tracked me down again. At least you bought a fish the third time.*

"Yeah, and then you coughed half of it back up and made me take a bite". Hiccup's voice and expression were so flat he could have used them for levels.

*I was sharing* Toothless insisted, not meeting anyone's eyes. Between them, he and Hiccup explained how they'd spent time in each other's space, figuring out boundaries through trial and error, and how they'd slowly gotten used to each other. How Toothless had been so perplexed by this odd human who wasn't afraid of him or trying to hurt him that he'd let Hiccup get close. How Hiccup had made himself vulnerable, trusting Toothless not to hurt him, and how Toothless had found the courage to briefly return that trust.

Hiccup went on to explain that his father, before heading off on yet another search for the dragon's nest, placed Hiccup in dragon-fighting class. He described how spending time with Toothless had taught him more about dragons than anyone on Berk had ever bothered to learn, and how he'd used it in the training and gone from being worst in class to the best. He explained how, after realising Toothless couldn't fly without his tail fin, he'd built a fake one and they'd had many, many attempts at making one that worked properly.

They spoke of their exhilarating but nearly fatal first real flight; how Hiccup had trusted his instincts at the last moment and navigated them both through a maze of sea stacks…then got scorched when Toothlesss forgot the human on his back wasn't fireproof. He told them about winning the 'honour' of killing a Fire-Scale, how he'd planned to run away on Toothless, and how Astrid – his girlfriend, he explained, though at the time she'd sort of hated his guts – had found them both and nearly blown their cover.

"I just wanted to show her that dragons weren't what she thought they were, so I tried to take her for a flight…only _somebody_ decided to scare her into apologising with a bunch of risky flight manoeuvres" he revealed, with a half-hearted glare at Toothless.

*It worked, didn't it?* his dragon said smugly, *and she enjoyed herself in the end.*

"Yeah, once you'd stopped flying like a mania.c"

*I flew too close to the nest, and I heard _Her_ call again. It didn't hypnotise me fully this time…I think having Hiccup and Astrid on my back reminded me I wasn't bringing back prey, but I had to go into the nest so the other dragons wouldn't get suspicious.*

"Astrid and I saw all the dragons dumping the game they'd stolen and fish they'd caught down a giant hole, and we couldn't figure out why they weren't eating it…until we saw the Red Death – or its head at least – rear up and _eat_ a Rock-Tail that didn't bring enough food. Suddenly everything made sense; the raids, the war, that massive dragon was behind all of it. She'd been luring dragons to her nest, and forcing them to feed her out of fear of getting eaten themselves."

A chilling thought occurred to Hiccup; if like all dragons, the Red Death was more aware than it – she – seemed, then she _knew_ she was eating her own kind…and she didn't care. He knew some types of dragons hunted others – Scauldrons hunted Sea-Shockers, for instance – but that was for survival, not some twisted kind of punishment. He made a mental note to ask Toothless about dragons eating other dragons – was it taboo or were there rules about it?

He went on to explain how he'd tried to show his people that dragons weren't monsters, only for the Fire-Scale to get spooked and attack him. Toothless heard him screaming and finally climbed out of the cove, rushed to the rescue and fought off the Fire-Scale, only to get captured. "I tried to warn my dad about the Red Death, but he wouldn't listen to me. He…he disowned me, and set off to find the nest using Toothless as a guide. Luckily, Astrid snapped me out of my pity party, and I helped her and the other teenagers bond with the training dragons and we set out to rescue Toothless."

*I was trapped on a ship. The Red Death set it on fire and smashed it when Hiccup was trying to get me out. His father saved us both and took back disowning Hiccup…we lured the Red Death into the sky and blasted it again and again. Then we dived straight down…it was about to breathe fire on us but we spun around and I blasted into its mouth. It crashed and burned…I tried to outrun its body, but my tailfin had burned off and we crashed into the Red Death's tail.

*Hiccup fell off me…I caught his leg in my mouth with my teeth in, but he was slipping, so I…I had to bite down. I wrapped my wings around him to keep him safe and we hit the ground… Then his father, the human alpha, came over and he thought Hiccup was dead, so once he apologised I showed him Hiccup was safe. Then Astrid got him back to his home on her Spike-Tail, and Stormfly carried me as well…which I don't like, but the Red Death had burned all the ships and I couldn't fly so I didn't have much of a choice.

*He was asleep…the humans called it a coma...he was deeply sleeping and healing for a whole moon-turn. Longest one I've ever lived through, but… it gave me time to think. To think about how much Hiccup meant to me, how…I had started thinking of him as a little brother* Toothless confessed.

"When I finally woke up…I got a bit of a shock when I saw _this",_ Hiccup gestured to his prosthetic, "Instead of, y'know, my actual foot…Toothless helped me walk, and I went outside and saw humans and dragons _getting along._ The other villagers were even riding the dragons, or trying to…so naturally, I assumed that I was dead and in Valhalla. I wasn't, obviously, but…things were better after that. The raids were over, my dad and I were getting along better, I wasn't the village screw-up anymore…and I had the greatest friend a guy could ask for" he smiled down at Toothless.

*Do you see now, why Hiccup means so much to me? Ever since we met, we've been saving each other's lives. It's what we do, isn't it?* he asked Hiccup, giving him a brief nuzzle. Hiccup petted him in return and answered, "That's right. You save me and I save you, that's the way it is."

* * *

The dragons murmured to each other, their thought-speak blending into an unintelligible swirling breeze of sound…a raised, hoarse voice remarked calmly, *That was quite the tale…most interesting tale I've heard in years.* So said a Night Fury on a ledge above the Queen's…Hiccup could see the nubs lining his whole jaw, how his once bright green eyes had clouded, how his scales had lost their sheen. This must have been one of the Elders that Skylancer had mentioned.

The Elder stretched out his wings, and leapt down to the Queen's ledge…she made no move to rebuke him, so he must have been high in the hierarchy. *You've seen and done many things since I saw you last, but I suppose you don't remember me* he said to Toothless. The younger Night Fury's ear-fins went back in embarrassment as he reluctantly admitted *No, but I might…I only remember things from before _Her,_ if I'm reminded…and you do _look_ familiar, but…well…we do all sort of look the same.*

A brief chuckle escaped the Elders throat. *Allow me to remind you, then. I am Ekeren, the Elder of Healing…and I am also your grandfather, your mother's father. It is good to see you again…even if you did bring a rather odd friend home* Ekeren remarked, eyeing Hiccup, but his clouded eyes nonetheless were filled with humour.

Hiccup smiled nervously and gave a small bow. "It's nice to meet you, sir" he replied bravely. Ekeren made him feel a little surer of his decision to stay…now he knew Toothless had family here who hadn't turned from him in scorn for befriending Hiccup. Toothless was surprised…but already, vague memories were coming back, unfolding from whatever part of his mind the Red Death had ruthlessly crushed them into.

*Likewise…it's good to meet a respectful human* Ekeren replied. Hiccup noticed faint criss-crossed scars on his wings, seemingly from a whip or metal net, and had to hold back a wince. Still, if Ekeren had experienced human cruelty, and he was still willing to give Hiccup a chance…yes, it definitely gave him hope. His legs shook a bit and Toothless shifted to support his weight more comfortably. They both looked up at the Queen, wondering what she had thought of their story…and what the Queen-to-be had thought, since she had been the one to request it.

*You are right, Ekeren…it is clearer now, why you would choose to befriend a human like this* the Queen commented. Hiccup thought that might have been a compliment…of a sort… and then the Queen asked Ekeren, *What do you say of Midnight's capture and injury?*

*What's done is done. I see no reason to punish the boy for his mistakes…not when he's worked to mend them. Besides, Midnight…or I should say Toothless…is the one who was wronged, and if _he_ has forgiven Hiccup, then I feel the matter is settled, my Queen* Ekeren replied, ducking his head respectfully. Both Toothless and Hiccup felt a swell of gratitude towards the elderly Night Fury, who went on to say *More than that, I believe we _have_ learned the secret to their heart bind.*

*You have?* Toothless asked, his surprise overriding his self-control.

*I would say so…it seems that the two of you have been saving and protecting each other, and forming ties with one another long before you became heart bound. If your rider could help you fly when he had never flown before, then perhaps there is more of a dragon in him than it seems. I think you may have heart bound because in a way, you already were* Ekeren explained. Hiccup and Toothless looked at one another in surprise; they hadn't thought of that, but now that he mentioned it…

The sound of a tail slapping against rock made them look up at the Queen…only it wasn't the Queen who met their gaze, it was her daughter. *Thank you for telling us how you met, it was very exciting* she told them with a friendly purr…she looked at the Queen and said gratefully, *I'm glad you let them stay, mother*. The Queen gave her daughter a brief, but clearly affectionate nuzzle, and then addressed the cavern at large.

*This gathering has ended; you may leave if you wish* she told the pack. Gradually, the cavern emptied as the Night Furies flew away down the tunnels. At first Toothless and Hiccup weren't sure what to do; were they dismissed as well? *Your Majesty?* Toothless asked cautiously. She turned that piercing golden gaze on him and he felt himself crouching submissively. *Can…can we go?*

*Yes, of course. Come, Selena* the Queen told them, and then her daughter, before taking wing. The Queen-to-be, Selena, looked at the heart bound pair and said *Goodbye*, before spreading her own wings and following her mother. Hiccup heaved himself up onto Toothless' shoulders – it felt weird, riding bareback – and let his dragon carry him back to the cave. He knew he couldn't walk that distance on his own yet, but it still felt awkward to ride without flying…Hiccup was determined to start practicing walking soon, though perhaps not right now.

* * *

When they were settled back in their chosen spot close to the underground stream, Hiccup leaned back against Toothless and sighed. "That went better than I expected" he remarked lightly.

*I'm as surprised as you are* Toothless responded, nuzzling him, *I think we may have gotten through to some of them. I saw a lot of them looking more curious than angry as we went on. It's nice to know that not all of them are so quick to judge us.*

"Yeah, like Ekeren; it's good that you might have a chance to reconnect with your family…some of them, anyway."

*Yes, and then there's Selena* Toothless added; perhaps it was Hiccup's imagination, but he could swear his dragon's purr was almost dreamy when he said her name. *It's good that a dragon so high in the hierarchy likes us…she might be able to persuade the others.*

"Yeah, she seems nice" Hiccup agreed…a sly smirk spread over his face as he casually added, "And she's pretty, too."

Toothless' ear-fin twitched. *I suppose* he replied non-committally. Hiccup's smirk grew wider.

"Why don't you court her?" he asked, laughing out loud when Toothless stared at him in bewilderment.

*Court her?*

"You know, ask her to be your girlfriend, or mate, or however it works with dragons. Like how Astrid and I are courting."

*Oh…I can't. Hiccup, she's the Queen-to-be! She's second only to the Queen in the pack hierarchy, and I'm…I don't remember where I was in the hierarchy twenty years ago, but now, I doubt I'm even _in_ the hierarchy. The Queen would never want me to be her daughter's mate.*

"What about what you want? Or what _she_ wants?"

*Hiccup, please. It just wouldn't work out. Besides, she belongs here, and we'll be going home to Berk. Can we talk about something else?*

"Oh, alright" Hiccup sighed, before chuckling and saying, "Heh, can you imagine the look on Fishleg's face when I tell him everything you've told me about dragons?"

*You mean that look you humans always have when you hear something surprising?* Toothless asked. His jaw dropped, teeth pulled in, and his eyes widened. Hiccup burst into giggles. "Yeah, that one" he agreed in between snickers.

* * *

An hour or so later, they had a visitor. Selena padded into the cave; Hiccup, who was determinedly trying to walk towards Toothless without stumbling, was so surprised by this that he slipped and fell. "Whoa! Oh, thanks, bud" he smiled gratefully, when Toothless rushed forward to catch him.

*You're welcome* the dragon replied, before turning to Selena and ducking his head submissively. *Err, hello, your Majesty* he greeted; Hiccup gave a small bow.

*Oh, please don't do that* said Selena, padding right up to them and sitting down, *everyone does that, it's annoying. Call me Selena.* She purred a dragon-smile at them and tucked her tail around. Hiccup and Toothless glanced at one another, and then sat down themselves. Hiccup took careful note of the differences between them – Selena was a tad smaller than Toothless, with a more slender chest and pupils that were oval in shape, rather than curvy squares, her spines were smaller, and her ear-fins were shorter and more rounded.

Toothless, on the other hand, was trying not to react to having a female he was attracted to – he could admit that to himself at least – in such close proximity. *Hello* he said again, and immediately felt stupid. Hiccup snickered. Toothless lightly thwacked him with his tail.

*I suppose you're surprised. I would have come here sooner, but I had lessons…I wanted to meet you properly* Selena told Hiccup, much to his surprise. Her thought-speak was overlaid by a small whine of sadness as she added, *What you've been through is terrible…don't worry about the rest of the pack. They're just being stupid. You haven't done anything wrong. I think you humans are interesting. Strange, and scary sometimes, but _you're_ not scary. It's nice to meet you.*

"Uh… thank you, your Maj- I mean, Selena. It's nice to meet you too" Hiccup smiled at her. For a moment she looked confused, but then her ear-fins perked up in recognition.

*Oh, you're smiling! I remember, you said that you smiled at Toothless and he copied you. Let me try!* Selena said eagerly; she pulled her teeth in and her lips back…the result looked as silly as Toothless' first attempt at a smile, but of course they weren't going to mention that. *It feels weird, but fun* she remarked cheerfully. For the daughter of the Queen, who seemed so stoic, Selena was refreshingly free-spirited.

*What are you doing today?* she asked, sounding genuinely interested.

*Teaching Hiccup to walk.*

Hiccup flicked his dragon's ear-fin and retorted, "I know how to walk! I'm just trying to get my strength back. What happened…it took a lot out of me."

Selena made a sympathetic noise, like a cross between a purr and a whimper. *Is there anything I can do to help?*

"No, no, it's fine" Hiccup shook his head. Then he hesitated, and said, "Well…it's not the walking, but I…I hope you don't mind me asking, but…what happened to make your pack so hostile to humans?"

*Oh, well…hundreds of years ago, our kind wasn't so hostile to humans, and we mixed more with other dragons. Not that we mind other dragons, but this pack keeps to itself most of the time. We were still unique though, and…we were hunted so much, humans were actually seeking us out to capture or kill as many Swift-Wings as they could find. More and more of us flew to the furthest corners of the world, away from humans…my pack's ancestors were more territorial. They wanted to defend this nest instead of abandon it; this is a good place to live.

*Humans still found them and tried to catch them…our ancestors were desperate, I guess, and they killed all the hunters after them. Humans who were only explorers came and saw them, and then more hunters came…eventually, they killed any human who came near the nest, but humans still come here. I don't think we should kill humans on sight, but everyone feels like we're only safe if we hide and drive away anyone who might reveal us. It wouldn't surprise me if mother sends a hunting party to pick off the hunters.*

*Well, the pack got its wish…everyone Hiccup and I have ever encountered believed that I was one of the last, if not _the_ last, Night Fury in the world" Toothless revealed, adding *before we set off for Myrkr, I wondered why no Night Furies had ever flown near the archipelago in twenty years. I guess this explains why…*

Selena sighed and replied, *I asked Ekeren why you had flown so far from the nest…he told me you were a long-range scout. They're supposed to patrol the furthest borders or find new territory, so the pack and the nest doesn't become overcrowded. The scouts are quite high ranking, but it's not unusual for some of them to never come back. Still, at least you found a new home and pack, right?* she reasoned, before standing up. *Come with me; you can't just stay in here all the time. Besides, there's someone I want you to meet* she invited them.

* * *

The Queen-to-be led the little entourage through the tunnels; Skylancer, Dusk and Nocte – or Notch as Skylancer called him, after the deep nick in his right ear-fin, much to the older dragon's displeasure – tagged along as well. As they neared their destination, the sounds of draconic laughter, roars and peculiarly high pitched shouting floated down the tunnel from a cave ahead.

Toothless and Hiccup followed Selena right up to the mouth of the cave, and through into a large cavern – bigger than the one they slept in – filled to the brim with small dragonets. They were all eyes and wings and tails; they chased each other, tried to fly, wrestled and tripped over their own paws. Thus did Hiccup confirm something he'd always sort of suspected…baby Night Furies were _adorable._

As soon as the little ones spotted Selena, they scrambled and lolloped over to greet her…but then they spotted Hiccup and a sudden hush fell over the cave, as every little dragonet and the adults watching over them stared at him. Feeling self-conscious, Hiccup quickly dismounted. "N-no, it's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you."

*Of course he isn't; Hiccup is nice!* Selena vouched for him. Suddenly she pounced; the little Night Furies scrambled back, but Selena caught one dragonet, less than a quarter of her size, and pinned the squirming little female. *Gotcha! Too slow, Lu-Lu* she teased.

*Get off!* the little dragon protested, with a roar that was more adorable than demanding. Selena let her get up; she shook herself and added, *and stop calling me Lu-Lu!*

*No promises. Hiccup, Toothless, this is my baby sister Luna. Luna, this is Toothless and Hiccup. Don't worry, they're nice* Selena reassured the youngsters. They all fidgeted and glanced at one another and murmured…rather guilelessly, so Hiccup could easily hear a lot of the mutters. Fortunately, most of them seemed to be along the lines of him looking weird and wondering why he didn't have as much fur and horns like most humans did. It was more amusing than insulting, really.

*Why'd you bring them?* asked Luna.

*I thought it would be fun. Hiccup? What do humans do for fun?*

"Oh, err, uh…how about a story?" he suggested, the first thing that came into his head. The little dragons looked at one another…then one of them, a little yellow eyed male, asked *What kind of story?*

*Can it be a funny one?* asked a female with blue-green eyes.

"Sure, uh, lemme think…"

*How about Berk's first Snoggletog with dragons* Toothless suggested. That earned them a _lot_ of strange looks, and questions about what that silly word meant.

"It's our winter holiday, back home" Hiccup explained, "Don't ask me why we chose such a stupid name. Everyone says our ancestors were tough, stubborn Vikings, but sometimes I think they might have just been crazy" he admitted, and a few of the youngsters laughed. "Well, it really all started five or so days before. Toothless and I were out flying; we were practicing this trick where he glides under a rock ledge, and I jump over it and land back on the saddle on the other side. It was…a lot harder than I thought it would be."

*He means we crashed. A lot* Toothless dead-panned, *And he kept wanting to go again, because he's stupid*. Even more of the dragonets chuckled.

"Yeah, well, we finally pulled it off"-

*Sixtieth times the charm.*

"Hey! It wasn't _that_ many. I think I preferred it when you couldn't talk" Hiccup teased; he felt bad straightaway, when Toothless' ear-fins flicked back and he looked away sadly. "Oh – wait, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it – eugh!" He pulled his spit-covered fingers away from where they'd been about to pet Toothless' nose, and realised that he'd been tricked. Toothless, Selena, and all of the youngsters laughed at that little prank.

"Yeah, okay, you got me"; even Hiccup was grinning, "So out of nowhere, right, we get caught in this huge flock of dragons. My helmet got knocked off but I was more interested in where the dragons were going. Turned out, nobody else knew either…they'd all just left. All except Toothless…I realised it wasn't fair, if he couldn't come and go like the other dragons, so I built a new tail-fin. One that would move with his real one and let him fly on his own…I put it on him and he flew away…

"Three days later, I saw my friend Fishlegs carrying this huge basket of fish – enough to feed a dragon – so I got suspicious and followed him. Would you believe he tried to kidnap his own dragon? Meatlug dragged me along with her when she flew off…she took me all the way to the Rookery, where all the dragons had gone to lay their eggs and hatch them. That's where I found out dragon eggs explode when they hatch..." he grinned and added, "Thing is, my friends found the eggs Meatlug had laid, and put them in our _wooden houses._ Next thing you know, boom!"

The youngsters laughed even more at this; encouraged, Hiccup went on, "So I accidentally started the return migration, and we got all the baby dragons back to Berk in this old long-ship. Whilst we were celebrating, Toothless came back", Hiccup smiled fondly and stroked his dragon's neck, "He'd spent all that time searching for my missing helmet…it used to belong to my mother, you see, so it's pretty special. How _did_ you find the helmet, anyway? It was in the water, it should've sunk."

*I had help* Toothless confessed, *Just by chance, a Sea-Shocker pod had chased a squid into shallower water…they weren't happy to see me at first, but I convinced them I wasn't after them. I asked them for help because I couldn't swim down far enough, but the helmet still took a while to find. To be honest…I went looking for it because I thought…I thought you were cross with me for not catching it. I thought you gave me that new tail because…you didn't want to ride me anymore.*

Hiccup stared at Toothless incredulously. "Wow…" he smiled slowly, "Now who's the stupid one?" he teased, giving Toothless a one-armed hug.

*I know, I misjudged the whole thing…you haven't finished the story.*

"You finish it."

*Fine. So, I woke Hiccup up early the next morning…after I'd dug out the old tail-fin. I…this is going to sound strange* Toothless admitted, *but I didn't really _want_ to fly on my own…those four days away from Berk, trying to get the helmet back, they were really lonely. And besides... most of my friends carry their riders, but Hiccup, he's helping; he's actually flying _with_ me. The first tail-fin meant he could be part of me and if I could fly on my own, it wouldn't be the same…so I broke the new tail.*

The group of dragonets gasped in surprise. *Wait…so he gave you the chance to be free and you gave it up, for him?* asked Luna…she blinked a few times and then said, with a purr, *That's…really sweet.*

*What's a Sea-Shocker?* one of the youngsters asked curiously.

*That's what the humans named the Spark-Nose sea dragons* Toothless explained, *They have this weird habit of giving everything silly names.*

*What do humans call us?* Luna demanded of Hiccup.

"Well, not _all_ the names we think of are silly. We call you guys Night Furies" he told them, "I mean, you think humans are scary? We're _way_ more scared of your kind. I bet you're all really fierce, aren't you?"

A lot of the youngsters picked up on the challenge and growled playfully at him. After that a game of sorts started; the youngsters would say a dragon-kind, and Hiccup would tell them the human name for it, with Toothless and Selena correcting him every now and then. They spent the rest of the afternoon in the nursery, telling the youngsters stories…Hiccup even took off his prosthetic and used it to make spots of light dance around the room for them to chase, reflected off the sunlight that seeped in from a tunnel stretching up above their heads.

Eventually the fun ended and the nursery emptied…but the youngsters actually, albeit shyly asked Hiccup and Toothless to come back tomorrow, and they were happy to say yes. Well, Hiccup was, at least. It was with light hearts that they settled down to sleep that night. "They're so cute. That was a really good idea of Selena's" Hiccup said happily as he curled up resting against Toothless' warm body.

*Yeah…goodnight, Hiccup.*

"Goodnight, Toothless."

* * *

A/N: For the purpose of this series, 'moon-turn' refers to a lunar cycle, from new to full or from full to new. Basically, it's the dragon equivalent of a month. The dragon concept of time is what ours would be without clocks or calendars. The shortest unit of time they define clearly is a day or a night, and don't separate it into anything smaller - what we would call hours, minutes, seconds etc. Nor do they keep count of the number of days in a month, or a year, but they do know there are twelve moon-turns between every winter.


	7. Not Running Away

Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD

A/N: The song for this chapter is 'Never Gonna Let You Down' by Colbie Caillat. I discovered it recently and it's now one of my favourite songs ever XD.

Funny story – I was reading the Riders of Berk TV Tropes pages (like you do) and on the recap page for 'We Are Family Pt 1', it pointed out that had the Isle of Night and Bork's 'notes' on Night Furies being hostile to other dragons been legit, Hiccup would, and I quote, 'have been dealing with a clan of hostile Night Furies on his own'. I read it and thought, 'Hey, that's the closest one of my fanfics will ever get to being on TV Tropes!' LOL. Ah, coincidences!

Chapter Seven – Not Running Away

Days and nights were rather meaningless in the caves, and to dragons in general. They slept when they were tired and ate when they were hungry; and Hiccup, having no reliable way of keeping track of time, would end up doing much the same. As he and Toothless were finishing off some cod and salmon, the next time they awoke after visiting the nursery, Hiccup asked "So, what's the deal with dragons hunting other dragons? I mean, the Red Death was eating dragons, and that's bad, but Scauldrons hunt Sea-Shockers, and that's okay? Do you guys have rules about that kind of thing?"

Toothless swallowed a mouthful of cod and explained, *The norm is that no dragon will eat their own kind, and only a few would eat another. To use your example, Scauldrons and Sea-Shockers are natural enemies, and they hate each other, but Scauldrons will only go so far as hunting Sea-Shockers if their normal prey is scarce. We all understand it's a matter of fighting to survive. The rare dragons that eat other kinds without mercy, without a fair fight, those are hated and feared by every other dragon.*

"I can't say I blame you. So, do all dragons understand each other?" asked Hiccup. The thought of dragons eating other dragons when they could understand each other disturbed him somewhat, but he supposed it wasn't all too different from humans killing each other, from a certain point of view.

*We have a common tongue* Toothless agreed, *Of course, that doesn't mean we'll listen to each other, or to humans.*

"Yeah, I've noticed" Hiccup teased him, "Have you been able to understand me this whole time?"

*Dragons have this…instinct, I suppose, to understand humans. We don't really know how, or why…but the fact that you can't understand _us_ means that a lot of dragons see humans as beneath them, as pests or enemies* explained Toothless. The irony of this was not lost on either of them. *But hardly any dragon would eat a human* he added, *Kill them, yes, but not eat them.*

"Oh, well, that's reassuring" his rider said sarcastically, "If I ever get killed by an angry dragon, at least I know they won't be using my bones as a toothpick."

*You're not going to get killed by a dragon* Toothless said patiently. _Because I'd kill them first_ he thought, but didn't say.

"This whole 'understanding dragons' thought-speak' thing is going to make it so much easier to train – err, hmm. I can't really call it that anymore, can I? I sure hope I didn't offend any dragon by treating them like animals…"

*I think any dragon you've befriended would have just been happy you treated them nicely instead of trying to capture or kill them* Toothless pointed out with a flat look.

"Okay, okay, fair enough. You guys really are amazing" Hiccup smiled fondly, "After everything we did, you wanted to be friends with us, and all those times I earned the trust of wild dragons just by showing I was like them…it'd be nice if humans were that open-minded."

*Don't worry, none of us blame you for being inferior to dragons* Toothless said teasingly. Hiccup shoved his shoulder – with no success - and then a thoughtful expression came over his face. "Huh. Now that I think about it, there have been a few times when we'd find two dragons passed away next to each other. We all thought maybe they'd died pining after their mate, but…they must have been heart bound" he reasoned.

*They were probably mates as well, most heart bound pairs are.*

Hiccup giggled, seemingly out of nowhere. "Oh great, my first wife is a dragon" he joked. Toothless cocked his head in confusion and whistled curiously, *What is a 'wife'?*

His best friend blinked in surprise/confusion, and replied, "Uh, it's…when two people, when humans get married, the woman becomes the man's wife and the man becomes the woman's husband."

Toothless now looked even more confused. *Wait…what? Married, woman, wife, man, husband…I don't know what all that _means_ , Hiccup.*

It finally occurred to Hiccup that dragons probably had completely different words, and completely different concepts, to humans. How to explain it all? "Um, okay, so… 'woman' means adult human female and 'man' means adult human male, and 'married' is the past tense of 'marry', and when two humans marry, it means they agree to…well, mate for life, in a way"-

*Humans call mating 'marrying'?* Toothless interrupted, still very confused, *And when they marry they stop being male and female and turn into a wife and*-

"No, no, it's not…" Hiccup chuckled a bit at the misunderstandings, and explained, "They're still male and female, they just call each other 'husband' and 'wife' so that other humans _know_ that they're married."

*Like…sound marks?* Toothless asked, struggling to understand, *You can't smell the other's scent on married humans so you use words instead? But how do they know it's true?*

"Because – well, they can prove it by – oh, look, it's complicated, okay? I'll try to explain it later" Hiccup promised, before adding, "Oh, and we don't call mating 'marrying', by the way, it's not…I mean, married humans do…y'know, mate…but we call it 'making love'…"

*Why is your skin going pink?*

"Well, because it's kind of awkward, talking about…mating and having babies and all that sort of thing."

*Awkward? Hiccup, why are you getting embarrassed over something natural? You humans are so _strange…_ * he rolled his eyes in exasperation and slumped his head down. Hiccup opened his mouth to explain, or maybe protest…but then it _was_ ridiculous, he supposed, to feel embarrassed to talk about something as natural as…well, sex. Especially with a dragon, who probably didn't see it the same way humans would.

"I'm fine" he tried to reassure the black dragon, "I was being silly. So, like I was saying – humans get married, and they mate and have babies – but they don't marry _just_ to have babies….it's hard to explain, because dragons just find a mate and have sex and lay eggs…you guys don't really have anything that's the same as marriage…" he trailed off briefly as he realised the obvious. "Oh. Oh wait, you _do!_ Okay, hang on, let me start over."

Toothless moaned _impatient/annoyed._ "Oi, do you want me to explain or not?"

*Sorry* said Toothless, his ear-fins lowering.

"Aw, it's okay" Hiccup stroked his head and explained, "Right, so, think of it this way. Marriage is for humans what heart-binding is for dragons, only without the whole 'dying-with-each-other' thing."

A light seemed to appear in Toothless' eyes as he finally grasped what Hiccup was saying. *Oh…why didn't you just _say_ that? Wait, do you want to marry with Astrid? Because you both smell like you want to mate a lot, but you never do, and all of us dragons are getting kind of impatient…*

"Heh – yeah, I actually do want to marry her. I…I think I want it even more…now that I know that she's only going to be with me for a short time" Hiccup admitted. Toothless seemed nervous as he asked *If you marry Astrid, I will still be your other half…won't I?*

"Oh, of course" Hiccup reassured him, "I'll always love you, but I love Astrid too, just in a different way. Listen…" Hiccup hesitated… "I hope it never comes to this, but if I...if I ever had to choose between you and Astrid…"

*You'd choose me, because we're heart bound* Toothless said confidently, *I know. I would choose you too.*

For a moment Hiccup looked shocked, and smelled a little scared/angry, and then he just looked and smelled sad. "Would you really let Astrid die to save me?"

Toothless' eyes widened; he hadn't realised what Hiccup meant by 'choose between'. *I'd _have to…_ we're heart bound, you're my other half, I can't live without you!* He whimpered in distress; he had to keep his other half alive and safe, but he cared about Astrid too...*I like Astrid but I _love_ you, I have to choose you but if Astrid died you would be sad because you love her…and me…who would you choose? Tell me, Hiccup! Who would you choose?* he demanded, scrambling to his feet and flexing his wings to show _urgent/alarmed_ / _need-to-know._

"Whoa, whoa, calm down! It's okay, bud, it's okay…" Hiccup reached out to him and caressed him, and Toothless relaxed at his other half's touch. "You don't have to live without me. We're heart bound, so if I die, you'll die with me."

*Yes, so I can't live without you!*

" _Oh,_ you mean...no, see, you _won't_ have to live without me. Look, Astrid can take care of herself and it's more likely _she'd_ be saving _me,_ but if I had to choose...I'd do everything I could to save both of you, but if I ever had to make such a hard choice, I just want to know that you'd understand if I chose Astrid, in the end, because I don't think I could live for centuries knowing I let her die or get hurt because of me.

"And before you go feeling guilty, this has nothing to do with the heart bind. This would be such a hard choice even if we _weren't_ heart bound, but if I save Astrid…or my children, when I have offspring of my own I'll want to protect them, if I sacrifice us for the humans that l love you would understand, wouldn't you?" he asked, feeling anxious and a little guilty about putting such pressure on his best friend.

Toothless whined _guilt/sadness_ and said slowly *You can't live feeling guilty if your loved humans die, but you can die feeling happy if they live…and I won'thave to live without you…I don't want us to die, I'd rather we live…but yes, I would understand. I trust you* he decided at last, nuzzling Hiccup more to comfort himself than anything else.

Hiccup exhaled, and smiled softly, returning the affection. "Thank you, Toothless. I'm sorry, I'll try to find a way to keep us all safe…" They had both calmed down, and come to terms with what they were asking of each other, by the time Selena pranced into the cave.

* * *

*Hello Toothless-Hiccup!* she greeted brightly, dropping the branch in front of him and giving him a gummy smile. *They're for you* she added, nudging the branch towards Hiccup; he realised then that it was covered in wild blackberries.

"Oh, thanks, that's really thoughtful" Hiccup smiled gratefully, reaching out to pluck a few from the thorny twigs and washing them in the stream before eating them. They were really tart, and possibly not quite ripe, but after two or three days of fish and meat they were the best thing he'd tasted in ages.

*I'm glad I remembered humans eat more than fish* said Selena, *I tried one…I'm not sure why you like them* she admitted, wrinkling her snout. Hiccup chuckled. Toothless sniffed curiously at the small purplish black fruits. Hiccup offered him a few; he licked them up and promptly spat them back out, licking his paw to try and get the taste out of his mouth. *It's so sour! Why would you _eat_ those?* he complained, his tongue lolling out of his mouth.

Hiccup nearly went into a fit of the giggles again. "Now you know how I felt when you made me eat that regurgitated fish" he retorted, "Why did you do that, anyway?"

*I told you, I was sharing. You said you didn't have any more fish!*

"And that made you decide to cough one up in my lap and tell me to eat it?"

*Well, you were so small and skinny, I thought you must have been really hungry, but you gave the only fish you caught to _me._ So I shared it with you…what's so funny?* Toothless demanded, when Hiccup started laughing again. He shook his head in amusement and leaned over to give his thoroughly bemused dragon a hug. "You do realise I could have just gone and caught more fish for myself, right?" he asked teasingly, with a fond smile; Toothless' reason for trying to get him to eat the fish, as disgusting as it had been, was actually really touching.

Toothless blinked a few times, turning the thought over in his mind, and then groaned as he put two and two together. Selena looked between them and gave an amused purr. *It's nice that you're happy* she remarked, making herself comfortable. *All this talk about fish is making me hungry* she remarked. Toothless leaned forwards and helpfully coughed up a pile of half-digested fish; it looked and smelled completely disgusting, but Selena just purred happily and slurped it all up.

Hiccup, who had pulled the blackberry branch out of the way the moment his dragon started gagging, pulled a face and ate a few more of the berries. He'd take fruit over mushed up fish any day, thank you very much. A thought occurred to him, and he casually asked, "Y'know, playing with the hatchlings yesterday got me thinking, what do Night Fury eggs look like? Are they black or are they a different colour?"

*Oh, we don't lay eggs* Selena replied calmly. Hiccup nearly choked on a blackberry. "But you – I – and you're"- he spluttered in surprise, "I thought all dragons laid eggs. I mean…you're reptiles."

*I don't know why we don't lay eggs* replied Selena, *we just don't. It's like they hatch inside us and the baby kits keep growing…to about this big* she explained, placing her forepaws a short ways apart, "And they don't have any spines or claws…or teeth.*

"Wow…" Hiccup smiled, fascinated, "So, uh, do Night Furies have…I mean, most animals I know that give birth instead of laying eggs, the babies drink their mother's milk, is it the same with Night Furies?" he asked curiously.

Selena looked confused and a little disgusted. *Don't be silly. Our kits aren't _that_ different from other hatchlings; they can swallow the food we cough up for them just like any other baby dragon. They don't have to be taught, it's like being able to understand humans, it just happens. Can baby humans do anything without being taught?*

"They can scream really loudly" Hiccup deadpanned, before admitting, "I haven't really spent much time around babies, to be honest. I know they can cling onto your finger really tight and recognise their mum's voice, but that's about it. I still can't believe you guys are just…born being able to understand humans. That's incredible…I sure wish _we_ could do that. I mean, no one would hunt you if they knew you were so much like us."

*Are you sure?* asked Selena, *I mean, lots of dragons know humans talk and sort of think like us, but most dragons think that humans are just stupid pests. Wouldn't some humans do the same?*

"Maybe…" a determined expression came over Hiccup's face, "But then, maybe if people _knew,_ then they'd change their minds…"

*Please tell me you're not thinking of trying to change _their_ minds* Toothless said warningly.

Hiccup shook his head and insisted, "No, of course not. They can go to Helheim, for all I care…but if people _knew,_ if I could show them that dragons have more in common with them than they think, it would change _everything._ No one would want to buy a dragon, alive or dead, if they knew you guys were people too!"

*And telling everyone you can talk to dragons wouldn't make them think you were crazy* Toothless deadpanned, his eyes half-lidded. Hiccup stared back at him with a very similar expression, and Selena wondered which of them had learned it from the other.

"I'll be telling my friends about being able to understand dragons – are you saying they'll think I'm crazy?"

*That doesn't count. Your friends are already crazy* Toothless riposted; Hiccup didn't even try to deny this fact. * _You're_ crazy. The fact that you wanted to stay here and make friends with the pack instead of going home as soon as we could is proof of that* Toothless added.

"Well, you heart bound to me even though you didn't know if it would work, so you're crazy too" Hiccup teased him right back. Toothless nuzzled his cheek, and licked him again, just to annoy him. "Eww. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you wanted to eat me. I mean you lick me so much I must taste good…what do I taste of, anyway?"

*You taste of…human-skin and _you,_ all your scents; that… charcoal-leather-metal-dragons- _me_ scent. That's why I lick you, I need to mark you and put my scent on you so everyone knows that you're _my_ human, or to make sure you're okay. Humans taste even more like the sea when you're scared or hurt, did you know that?*

"Uh, heh, yeah…that seawater you taste, that's uh, that's sweat, it's how humans cool down when they're too hot – or when we're hurt or scared, like you said. Of course, dragons can't sweat, can you? That's why you can live in cold places, your inner fire keeps you warm and the cold stops you from overheating, so it all balances out."

*You know an awful lot about dragons* Selena remarked approvingly.

"Just stuff I've figured out over the years" he shrugged, slinging an arm around his dragon's shoulders. "I wish I still had Inferno with me, or my flight suit…it would be a lot easier to convince the pack I'm not a threat if I could show them I can be like a dragon too" he commented, really just thinking aloud. There were plenty of times when he'd earned the trust of hostile dragons just by showing them his 'wings' and 'fire', proving that they weren't so different.

*Who's Inferno?* Selena asked, confused.

*Hiccup's fire sword* answered Toothless, *Humans name their weapons…they're weird like that.*

*You have a fire sword?* she asked Hiccup.

"I _had_ a fire sword" he sighed, "Built it myself. The blade collapses into the hilt…one end coats it in Monstrous Nightmare saliva and sets it alight, and the other end releases Zippleback gas and sets that alight. It's a great way to convince wild dragons I'm not a threat, when they see I can make fire as well."

*It sounds really cool* Selena commented with a dragon-smile…her purr became a sympathetic croon as she added, *I'm sorry you lost it.*

"I can always build it again" Hiccup shrugged. He tried to play it off but in truth, he hated the thought of Hauke using his weapon…he was just glad that it couldn't be used to hurt the dragons, since they were fireproof…on the outside, at least. He still felt guilty at having to abandon all those captured dragons, and any others the hunters caught…really, it would have been better to let his friends come and help him free them all, but that would have meant risking their capture, and after what _he_ went through…he wouldn't wish that fate on anyone.

*If it makes you feel any better, the pack isn't wary of you because you're human* Selena told him, *They're just afraid you're going to either turn on us or go home and tell everyone about our nest so more humans will come and try to hunt us.*

Both dragon and rider stared at her. _Thank you for summing that up_ Hiccup snarked mentally, but he didn't say it out loud for fear of sounding disrespectful. "Right…"

*I still don't know why you insisted on staying* Toothless grumbled, *If you wanted to learn about Night Furies, I like to think I'm a pretty good authority on the subject.*

"Yeah, but there might be stuff you don't remember" Hiccup pointed out, "And besides, it's not just about learning about your kind…if I could change my people's minds about dragons, why not try changing your people's minds about humans? I mean…befriending dragons is what I'm best at; it's who I am."

*You're a lot of things, Hiccup* Toothless assured him, *Reckless, stupid and stubborn, to name a few* he added with a hooded stare.

Hiccup returned said deadpan stare – it was uncanny how similar their expressions were, Selena noted as she looked between them – and calmly retorted, "I've changed my mind, I don't want to be heart bound to you anymore."

*You're doing that human lying thing again. Well, tough, it's irreversible* Toothless replied, trying to ignore the twinge of guilt at that thought. Irreversible…it was okay, Hiccup wasn't mad at him, there was nothing to worry about…

Selena's eyes suddenly widened as she realised *I completely forgot, I have to go! My mother is waiting for me. You two should go to the nursery and see the kits, I'm sure they'd love that, you remember the way right?* But she was out the cave mouth before either of them could answer, and they heard a whoosh as she took to the air. The two of them looked at one another, a bit taken off guard by her abrupt exit.

"…Y'know, Selena's really nice and it's great that she likes us, but do you get the feeling she's a little bit...um…"

*A few eggs short of a clutch?*

"Shh! We don't want them to overhear us" Hiccup whispered, "She's the Queen-to-be, I don't want to sound disrespectful."

*Relax, I'm being quiet. I'm actually sort of glad she rushed off* Toothless admitted, prompting his rider to give him a puzzled stare. "How come? I thought you _liked_ her" he said with a sly smile, earning himself another tail thwack. Toothless didn't know why he hadn't started doing that sooner.

*I'm glad because it means I can ask you something important* Toothless explained, *You see, I know the real reason you want to stay and take on this challenge you set yourself. It's the same reason you wanted to come to Myrkr on your own.*

Hiccup frowned, not sure where Toothless was going with this. "I didn't want to risk the others getting hurt" he protested, but even then it sounded like a flimsy excuse.

*You've been on plenty of adventures with the other riders and you know they can handle themselves. We've been flying out further than normal before heading back, we came to Myrkr alone and then you insisted on staying instead of being taken home at the first opportunity…what I want to ask you, Hiccup, is this* He moved his snout forward so he was almost nose to nose with his rider, *Why are you trying to avoid Berk?*

Transfixed by his dragon's eyes, which were every bit as piercing as the Queen's right then, Hiccup could only stammer. "I, uh, I'm…I-I…I'm not…I…" Then he couldn't hold Toothless' gaze any longer and looked down. "I don't know…it's just…everyone was getting on my nerves, I don't know why, I just felt frustrated all the time, like I was trapped there…dad keeps dropping hints about wanting to make me chief, Astrid and I are getting serious…everyone expects so much of me…the future's coming so _fast_ and I…it…scares me" he admitted in a small voice.

A moment later, he felt the familiar nudge of Toothless' muzzle against his forehead, and a paw on his shoulder pulling him closer for a hug. He crawled closer and huddled into the space between Toothless' forelegs, tucked up against his chest, listening to his heart beat. Toothless crooned gently, and Hiccup felt the vibration running through his body. *Hiccup, you can run…or fly…away from a lot of things, but the future isn't one of them.*

"I know" he moaned, eyes closed.

Toothless had an idea. *What do dragons do when we can't run away?* he asked suddenly, catching Hiccup off guard somewhat.

"What?"

*You're the Dragon Master* Toothless said, a bit teasingly, *So come on, what do dragons do when we can't run away from a threat?*

"Well, they…they fight it."

*So why don't you do the same?*

"I…Toothless, it's not that simple. I can't…fight the future."

*Why not? You said it scares you, so you face it down until it stops scaring you. Sounds pretty simple to me* Toothless purred in amusement and remarked, *You humans make everything so complicated.*

In spite of himself, Hiccup smiled. "I guess you're right…but if we went home, wouldn't that mean I was running away from this?" he pointed out.

Toothless sighed…he should have known Hiccup would find a loophole like that. *You have nothing to prove, you know.*

"I know I don't need to prove myself to anyone, but…I want to prove it to myself. I really want to do this, Toothless."

There was a pause. *Okay* Toothless replied at last, *since it's so important to you…we'll stay and earn their trust. If it makes you feel better, you don't need your fire sword or your wings to earn their trust…you just need to be _you._ *

It was sappy, but Hiccup was touched nonetheless. "Thanks, bud…can you help me up? I wanna try walking some more" he said determinedly. It wasn't that he couldn't walk; it just hurt to walk for more than a few minutes at a time. He really needed to build up his stamina again.

*Sure, hold on.* When Hiccup tightened his hold around his dragon's neck, Toothless reared up and sat back on his haunches, pulling Hiccup with him. Once he'd found his footing, Hiccup cautiously let go and took a few steps. He stumbled a bit, and Toothless jerked forwards to catch him…but he managed to get his balance back and smiled at his dragon over his shoulder. He made it almost halfway across the cave before a sudden phantom pain sent him slipping again; but of course Toothless caught him before he could end up on the ground.

* * *

Not long afterwards, Nocte stepped into the cave, watching in mild bemusement as Toothless moved backwards, keeping his eyes on Hiccup. "Hi, Nocte" the young man smiled, pausing in his attempt to walk across the cave. He remembered Selena's hurried suggestion and asked, "Could we, err, visit the nursery?"

*Perhaps later; Ekeren wants to see you* Nocte informed them. Hiccup looked at Toothless, who was as surprised as he was, and turned back to Nocte. "Oh, okay. Lead the way."

Ekeren's cave was not far from the healing caverns – which made sense. He was the Elder of Healing, which as Skylancer obligingly explained, meant that he had gathered knowledge of ways to heal wounds and gathered many plants to do so. His cave was not in fact a cave at all; it was a vertical tunnel, with sunlight streaming in from the top, and rough alcoves blasted out of the rock in which lay piles of plants and herbs. The same underground stream that ran through the cavern they slept in had its source here, in the form of a thundering waterfall that cascaded down the far side.

When they arrived, Ekeren greeted the heart bound pair with a friendly purr. In front of his forepaws sat a metal dish, raided no doubt from a human camp or ship; it was covered in some kind of yellowish green mush, with an odd smell. Not unpleasant, exactly, just…unusual. The elderly Night Fury noticed Hiccup's eyes on it and nudged the dish towards him, scraping it over the stone. *We use these herbs to ease our own bruises* he explained, *I see no reason it wouldn't work for yours.*

"Thank you, sir" Hiccup smiled gratefully; first Selena bringing those blackberries, and now this. He and Toothless settled down opposite Ekeren. He pulled the dish towards him and gently wiped a little of the paste onto the bruise on his right cheek. The dull stinging started to ease up straightaway. Sighing in relief, Hiccup made to pull his tunic off, but then hesitated. He didn't want to look at his bruises, he didn't want the reminder….but then he remembered what Toothless had told him about facing his fears.

The dragons didn't bat an eye at him pulling off his tunic – after all, they didn't wear clothes. *So tell me, my boy* Ekeren asked in his hoarse but friendly voice, *How are you finding being heart bound?*

A wide smile instantly spread across Hiccup's face. "It's amazing…and kind of scary" he admitted, his smile fading somewhat, "But I don't regret it one bit."

*Me neither* Toothless agreed, nuzzling his rider. He definitely didn't regret saving Hiccup's life.

*It is quite the commitment, to choose to die with someone you love. Frightening, yes…and yet quite wonderful* Ekeren commented, prompting Hiccup's near boundless curiosity. "Um, sir? If you don't mind me asking…are you heart bound?"

*No; if I were, you'd have met them. It isn't a risk I can take; the pack needs me* Ekeren explained, before inquiring, *If you don't mind _me_ asking, what is it you find frightening about the heart bind?*

"Just…the idea that I'm gonna live for three centuries, maybe more" Hiccup explained, "Back home on Berk, the oldest anyone ever gets is about seventy…even less, when we were still fighting dragons. Getting past fifty back then was an achievement…our own healer, Gothi, she's supposed to be over a hundred years old…trouble is she's taken a vow of silence, and whenever someone asks her for her age, she just clonks them with her staff."

Toothless and Ekeren chuckled; Dusk, who was standing watch not far away, simply rolled his eyes. *I suppose it would be daunting to a human…although, it might not be three centuries* Ekeren remarked. Both Hiccup and Toothless were puzzled until he explained, *You both have each other's blood in your veins; but human blood does not have the same properties as ours. You will live as long as Toothless does, but it is possible that Toothless himself would not live the full lifespan of a Night Fury, with a little human blood mixed into his own.*

*How long would we live for?*

*No one could say; I could ask the Elder of Visions for you.*

"Dragons have visions?" Hiccup exclaimed in surprise.

*Oh, not all of us…just a few* Ekeren replied, *It hardly matters just now…even when you live for centuries, you must live in the present. I think, at the very least, you will live long enough for the side effects to occur.*

*There are side effects?* Toothless asked with a small yelp of alarm.

Ekeren reassured him, *Good ones, grandson. I may not be heart bound myself, but I have known several heart bound pairs, and they all shared similar experiences. After a while, their minds and souls became so entwined, it was as if they shared one mind, one soul. They were always aware of each other's presence, no matter how far apart they were, yet they only felt whole when they were together. They even shared dreams. I can't imagine it would be different for the two of you* he explained.

"Wow…" Hiccup smiled. It was still very daunting, but knowing that his best friend would be there for him made the whole thing much easier to cope with.

* * *

Over the next few days, Hiccup and Toothless fell into a routine of sorts. They spent a lot of time in the nursery, entertaining the kits by recounting embarrassing stories about each other; although, to Hiccup's slight annoyance, they thought everything he'd done was far more hilarious than Toothless' antics. Especially when his dragon cheerfully described Hiccup's numerous failed attempts to make and use his own wings.

In the manner of nearly all youngsters, the Night Fury kits were quicker to accept Hiccup once they realised he was a source of entertainment. They were too cautious to come near enough to be petted, and the adults watching over them kept a wary eye on Hiccup, but no-one protested to his presence. Spending time with the kits not only buoyed Hiccup's spirits, he also learned more about Night Furies from them. For one thing, watching the adults break up scuffles that were getting a bit too rough made him realise that their retractable teeth were a good way to pick up their young without causing harm.

It was on their eighth day there, though it felt like far longer, that Selena hurried into the nursery with urgent news. *Your friends are here!* she told Hiccup, much to his bewilderment.

"My what?" he asked stupidly, taken aback.

*Your friends, silly. One of the sentries spotted four dragons with humans on their backs* she explained.

"They must be here to rescue me" Hiccup realised…he turned to Skylancer and asked, "Where's the nearest exit tunnel?"

*You're leaving?* Selena asked, sounding disappointed; the kits whined in protest. Hiccup shook his head. "No, I – _we_ decided to stay" he explained, gesturing between himself and Toothless, "But Nadders, Spike-Tails, they're _tracker class_ dragons. Stormfly will follow our scent right to the nest and Astrid won't give up trying to get inside. No, I'm going to convince them to go back home."

* * *

The other dragon riders were flying high above Myrkr, looking for any clue as to Hiccup's whereabouts. They'd already spotted the hunter's camp, but their dragons refused to go anywhere near it, which was unusual. What they didn't know was that Sharp-Shot, in the midst of rambling to the bigger and older dragons about what he'd seen, had inadvertently made the dragons nervous about risking their humans or themselves falling into these hunters hands. Even the hunters they'd been captured by before hadn't gone so far as to hurt their riders physically.

"How are we gonna find them?!" Snotlout exclaimed irritably, "This place is _huge,_ and they could be, you know, anywhere!"

"We'll find them, Snotlout" Astrid insisted firmly; under her breath she murmured, "We have to…"

They flew lower, sweeping over the foothills of the mountains. As they circled past what looked like a massive, ancient volcano pock-marked with whispering or screaming death holes, a familiar roar sounded, and a plasma blast exploded in the sky before them. "Down there!" Astrid cried, clutching the handles of Stormfly's saddle and holding on tight as her dragon swooped down. The blast had come from the side of the mountain furthest from the hunters, she noticed.

They found Hiccup and Toothless standing at the mouth of one of those large, half caved in tunnels. They didn't look too good; Hiccup's armour was missing, as was Toothless' harness, and Hiccup looked like he'd been in a fight or something. Astrid barely registered his battered appearance, swinging herself out of Stormfly's saddle and running over to him. "Hiccup!" she exclaimed in relief, throwing her arms around him. He winced, and she pulled back to ask him what the matter was, finally spotted the yellowing bruise on his cheek. "What happened?"

"I tripped" he lied quickly, "Astrid, listen, you guys need to"-

"Where's Toothless' saddle? And your armour?" Astrid questioned, voice tight with concern, "Hiccup, we got your note, what's this about Night"- Hiccup pressed a finger to her lips. She went cross-eyed looking down at it and then glared at him indignantly.

Bracing himself for the inevitable protests, Hiccup squared his shoulders and insisted, "You guys need to leave."

Astrid pushed his hand away from her mouth and demanded, "How can we leave if Toothless doesn't-?"

"I said _you_ need to leave, Astrid" he cut her off hastily, "I'm…I'm staying."

They all looked at him as if he'd lost his mind. "Are you kidding me?!" Snotlout scowled, "We came all the way out here, _twice,_ to rescue your sorry butt and now you're telling us to turn around and go back?!"

"We're a team, Hiccup!" Fishlegs declared, he and the others having dismounted and come over, "Whatever it is you're doing out here, we can help!"

"You're the one who always says we should stick together, work as a unit; so, what, it's not okay if _we_ go off on our own, but it's okay if you do?" asked Astrid.

Hiccup held his hands up in surrender. "I know, I know! Coming out here was stupid and wrong and I, I'm _sorry._ I really am, but I…I can't leave, Astrid. Not just yet…give me a couple more weeks, maybe not even that."

Astrid peered past him at the darkened tunnel. "What's in there?" she asked curiously, "That's a Screaming Death tunnel."

"There's not a Screaming Death down there, if that's what you're worried about."

"Is it Night Furies?" Fishlegs wondered eagerly, "Cos your note said"-

"Shh!" he hissed, glaring and gesturing for them all to be quiet. Thinking hard, and rapidly running out of options, he checked the coast was clear and asked, "If I tell you guys the truth, will you _please_ trust me and go back to Berk? And you can't breathe a _word_ of this to _anyone,_ am I clear? Or our whole village could be at stake."

After a few tense moments, they all reluctantly agreed to keep Hiccup's explanation a secret and to leave him be…if his explanation was satisfying, Astrid warned. Hiccup told them…well, nearly everything. He told them how the Night Furies hadn't died out, but gone into hiding, and usually attacked humans on sight for fear of being discovered. How they'd seemed to only spare him because he was with Toothless, and that they would be in danger if they tried to stay there too. He explained that he wanted a chance to earn the Night Furies trust, and give Toothless the opportunity to spend time with his own kind.

He didn't tell them about the heart bind…that was a whole other basket of fish, and not something he wanted to deal with right then.

When he'd finished, Astrid stared at him for a long moment. "You're serious, aren't you?" she asked finally, although it wasn't really a question, "You are actually doing something this stupid."

Hiccup sighed and reached out to cup her cheek in his hand. He'd missed her, and for a moment he was tempted to change his mind, agree to leave with her. Yet at the same time… "I will come home, Astrid" he told her gently, "I promise, but this…this is a _once in a lifetime_ opportunity. I can't pass this up."

She stared at him…then her gaze softened to one of acceptance. The others thought he was crazy, but training dragons was what Hiccup did best, and with Toothless there he was in good…well, claws, as Tuffnut remarked. Astrid leaned in and pressed a kiss to his lips, quickly deepening it. "To hold you over" she winked at him when she pulled away, grinning at the dazed look on his face.

One by one, his friends wished him luck (or in Snotlout's case, claimed he'd sell Hiccup's belongings if he failed to return), mounted up and flew away. Toothless and Hiccup watched them go; the black dragon nuzzled his rider.*We'll see them again soon* Toothless reassured him; his throat tight, all he could do was nod. With their friends, their chance of being taken home had flown away as well…there was no turning back now.

* * *

A/N: I'm sure some of you read the part about Night Furies giving birth to live young and were like, "What? That doesn't make sense! Dragons lay eggs!" Allow me to clarify. Several species of real-life reptiles give birth to live young, so it isn't biologically impossible, and I decided that since Night Furies are the most 'mammalian' of the dragons, for lack of a better word, it would be interesting if they were one of the few species of dragon that gave birth instead of laying eggs.


	8. Old Wounds

Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD

A/N: The song for this chapter is 'Beside You' by Marianas Trench, just for being a lovely friendship/supportive song ;)

* * *

Chapter Eight – Old Wounds

It had been two days since he'd persuaded Astrid to return to Berk without him. He was still struggling to stay on his feet for more than a few hours or so, but the herbs that Ekeren let him use had helped tremendously in healing his bruises. Better still, he felt like he was making progress with his efforts to earn the trust of the pack. A few of Toothless' former friends had finally approached them; the ones who didn't feel he was a traitor and who wanted to start over even though Toothless had trouble remembering them clearly.

Hiccup had worried at first that he'd get the Night Furies mixed up and offend them somehow. He soon started to realise however, that as similar as they appeared at first glance, there were subtle differences between all of them. They each had a unique pattern of scales on their snouts and cheeks, even around their eyes, like fingerprints. They all had unique mottling and voices as well – some of them had voices that didn't sound human, more like humming or clicking sounds, which still made recognisable words.

He had to remind himself sometimes that even though they spoke like humans, the dragons didn't always think or act like humans. The adults didn't act much differently from the kits. They'd scuffle at the slightest provocation, nipping ear-fins and raking claws against scaly hides, or summon a plasma blast only to let it die at the last second when they were really ticked off. It was sometimes hard to tell when they were bickering or playing, since a lot of the time they were doing much the same things for both.

They didn't really have a concept of property – with dragons, if you didn't defend whatever you had and it was pinched, that was just hard luck because it wasn't yours anymore. Hiccup was hard-pressed to explain the idea of stealing being wrong, when a more adventurous kit in the nursery had sneaked up and stolen his peg leg – he'd taken it off because the stump had been aching with phantom pains. It had, however, been hilarious to watch the kits mother – who just so happened to be one of Toothless' former playmates, Corona – chase the young male down and pick him up squirming in her mouth.

Irritated at being denied a toy – it wasn't like Hiccup had been _using_ it – Obsidian, or Obby as he preferred to be called, petulantly demanded *Tell us a story!*

The cry darted like a dragonfly – no pun intended – around the cavern, echoing from lots of eager minds as the kits abandoned their wrestling and tugs-of-war with branches and scrambled over to surround Toothless and Hiccup. None of them had plucked up the courage to let him stroke them yet – they thought he was funny (and funny looking) but they were still nervous about actually getting that close to a human. Still, they were a lot more eager to hear stories from him and Toothless now, and that was heartwarming in and of itself.

Caught off guard, Hiccup quickly racked his brains for a good one. "Oh, uh, okay…um…oh! I know. How would you like to hear about the time Toothless and I fought a Skrill? A, uh, Lightning-Fang?" he asked, feeling pleased with himself for recalling the Skrill's personal name for its kind. It turned out that dragons found the names humans gave their kinds to be either insulting or confusing, and the ones on Berk sometimes only answered to their human given names so as to not make a fuss. Hiccup had promised to sort out all the disagreements when they returned home.

Eyes and pupils widened in sheer wonder. *You fought a Lightning-Fang?* Obby asked with his mouth open. Hiccup quickly suppressed a snigger at the amusing sight and Toothless replied, *And a lot of crazy Vikings. It all started when we rescued a couple of villagers from Berk from a ship full of Beserkers…*

* * *

"….And then Dagur stepped into a puddle, so when he made the Skrill fire lightning again it went down the ropes and shocked him - he looked like he'd been barbecued" Hiccup grinned, and the kits laughed. "But oh man, that Lightning-Fang was _mad._ It got free of the ropes and it came after us, but then Toothless and I _had_ just been fighting with it. We weren't gonna stick around – we took off and flew fast as we could, right back to the giant iceberg we'd first found the Skrill trapped inside."

*The jerk nearly crushed us with a falling piece of ice, but I dodged it, because I'm just that amazing* Toothless said smugly.

"Hey, I helped!" Hiccup grinned, elbowing him in the side. Toothless retaliated with his new favourite telling-Hiccup-off trick, and batted the man with his tail. *I'm the one who was flying, so I was doing most of the work. Or would you rather be the one carrying me?*

"Okay, you win."

*That's what I thought. To be fair, it was your idea that let us defeat the Lightning-Fang* Toothless conceded, before explaining to the kits, *The Lightning-Fang chased us right into tunnels in the ice – Hiccup got me to land on a ledge above one tunnel, and our reflections were on the other side of the cave, so the Skrill thought we were right in front of him and he crashed. Then we flew out of the ice and our Twin-Head friends blasted it so the cave flooded and the Skrill got frozen all over again. And that, kits, is how Hiccup and I took on a Lightning-Fang and kicked its spiny butt.*

Everyone chuckled, Hiccup included. Since they were on a bit of a roll, he asked "Do you guys wanna hear the next part?"

*There's a next part?* one kit – Emera, he believed, her scale pattern looked a bit like a cresting wave – asked curiously.

"Oh, yeah" he nodded, "See, the Lightning-Fang escaped…although, I don't think we ever figured out how…" he frowned, puzzled, before shrugging and continuing, "And when it got out, the first thing it did was come after me and Toothless – for _revenge_ " he declared dramatically.

* * *

Hyping it up perhaps wasn't the best idea – the kits expected some kind of epic battle, and finding out that in the end they simply let the Lightning-Fang go was a bit disappointing. They were more confused about why Hiccup had led the dragon to hunters if he didn't want dragons to be hunted, in spite of Hiccup's admission that it had been a terrible idea and he'd really screwed up.

*Some things never change* Toothless remarked with unhelpful cheer, *Your plans usually work out, but some of them are really, really dumb.*

Hiccup raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh, really?" he challenged, "Okay, smart guy, if you think my plans are so dumb, why do you always go along with them?"

Toothless rolled his eyes and replied, *I don't know which ones are going to work and which are going to go horribly wrong, now do I? Besides, if I stopped you from screwing up over and over and over, well you'd never learn, would you?*

*Doesn't he learn from making mistakes?* one of the kits asked in bewilderment.

*Sometimes, except when it comes to going off on his own; he keeps doing that even though it usually ends badly, but I'm sure I can train him eventually* Toothless explained to the youngsters with an exaggerated sigh. Hiccup got the distinct impression that if Toothless could, he'd have petted Hiccup on the head like a child. Annoyed, he narrowed his eyes and retorted, "I go off _with you._ If you think it's such a bad idea, why don't you just refuse to take off? It's not like you have to listen to me."

Another eye-roll, and Toothless responded *We both know if I didn't, you'd go off and get into trouble on your own. It follows you everywhere. I'd rather be there to drag your skinny, stupid butt out of it!*

Hiccup folded his arms and retorted, "I can take care of myself, Toothless. Anyway, what about all the times I've gotten your tail out of trouble?"

*You mean the same trouble your egg-brained ideas get us into?*

The other Furies were starting to realise that the bickering was turning into a full-blown argument. Skylancer began to growl warningly, but neither Hiccup nor Toothless paid him any attention. "If you think they're so stupid then why don't you ever say anything?!" Hiccup demanded crossly.

Toothless bared his teeth – his name was a misnomer, after all – and retorted, *I told you, I don't know when things are going to go wrong, and I couldn't tell you even if I did! You couldn't hear me before now, remember?*

"That never stopped you before!" Hiccup snapped, raising his voice and not even noticing the wary gazes of the other dragons, "Did it never occur to you we could _avoid_ a lot of trouble if you just stopped me from screwing up, instead of letting me make mistakes because you're trying to 'train' me?"

*What part of 'I don't know what's going to happen' do you not understand?*

"I thought dragons were supposed to learn from experience!"

*We do! It's you humans who keep insisting on taking risks!*

"Then why in the name of Thor do you guys listen to us?!" Hiccup demanded, suddenly rising to his feet – the kits skittered back nervously, interpreting it as him trying to look more intimidating, but in his anger he failed to notice. "Why did any of you stick around and let us train or ride you?"

*Because it's the only way we could repay you for befriending us instead of killing us!* Toothless shot back, lurching to his own feet and growling in frustration.

Corona, who wasn't very aggressive, began to suggest *Perhaps you two should*-

Her sentence was drowned out by Hiccup shouting indignantly, "What , you think we'd turn on you if you didn't do what we said?! We'd _never_ do that!"

*I know! That's not what I meant! For Moon's sake, Hiccup, you've said it before – earning a dragon's loyalty means there's nothing we won't do for you. We trust you and we care about you, we all have an instinct to protect you because you're pack-mates and that's what a pack does!*

"Well, what about when we first met? I wasn't part of your pack then, why did you ever listen to me?"

Toothless' half-finned tail lashed angrily. *You didn't give me a _choice!_ * He roared the last word – and immediately recoiled, horrified. Hiccup gaped at him, and looked at the others, seeing the kits hiding beneath the adults and the larger dragons staring at him and Toothless in dismay or distrust. Nearly two weeks of trying to earn their trust, and he'd ruined it by starting a stupid argument with his best friend. Wordlessly, he stumbled backwards and sank down, sitting with his arms wrapped around his knees, hiding his face.

With a soft whine, Toothless took a step towards him, ear-fins pinned back contritely. He couldn't believe he'd _roared_ at Hiccup, that he'd let his anger get the better of him like that. He didn't even know what he'd gotten so angry about! *Hiccup?* he asked nervously.

The young man sniffled and didn't look up. "I'm sorry" he murmured, his voice muffled somewhat, "I'm sorry I hurt you. I don't know why you put up with me. I shot you down and I trapped you and I used you to get what I wanted…I'm no better than a hunter" he said guiltily. He thought he'd put the past behind him…but Toothless had inadvertently torn open old wounds.

*Yes, you are! _I'm_ sorry, I shouldn't have…Hiccup, please don't be upset* Toothless whined, edging a bit closer and trying to nuzzle him. Hiccup just hunched down even further, pulling away from Toothless, and the dragon's heart broke.

*I thought he said he wasn't a hunter?* Obby asked his mother. Corona nuzzled him and gently explained, *He isn't a hunter, dear. He just means that he feels like a hunter, because of what he did to Mid- ah, Toothless' tail.*

*At least he's admitting that he's no better than one of them* Dusk remarked; Skylancer literally snapped at him reprovingly and said *You're not helping.*

Toothless glared at the yellow eyed dragon – he didn't like Dusk, because Dusk clearly didn't like Hiccup. *He isn't like them! Don't blame Hiccup for this – I'm the one who started teasing him too much.*

Dusk's eyes narrowed and he retorted, *He said it himself, he trapped and used you.*

*He didn't mean it! We weren't thinking straight – this doesn't mean you can't trust him! You don't have to be scared of him* Toothless said desperately. He too feared that all the effort they'd put into showing Hiccup was trustworthy and not planning to turn on them all could be ruined by this silly mistake.

For a few moments, a tense silence stretched...then Luna, Selena's baby sister, cautiously stepped forward, looking at Hiccup. *Hiccup?* she asked tentatively. That got his attention, and he peeked up at her from under his fringe. *My sister keeps talking about how nice you are, and…I think you are. You're not like a hunter. You don't try to catch us in hurting metal jaws or stick us in cages. You tell us great stories about all the adventures you and Toothless have had!*

*And from what we've heard, you've more than made up for what you did* Nocte, of all dragons, pointed out with a surprising note of respect in his voice.

*Hiccup, I forgave you five years ago* Toothless reminded him with a reassuring croon, *you know that. If you hadn't shot me down, we'd have never stopped the Red Death and ended the war. Who cares about one measly missing tail-fin?*

*Don't be sad* Luna implored him, *You're not a bad human, you're…you're not scary. I'm not scared of you.*

*Are too* one guileless kit muttered; Luna growled at them and retorted, *Am not! I'll prove it!*

She boldly padded towards Hiccup. The kits had come within touching distance of him plenty of times, but he'd never tried to reach out and pet them, afraid of crossing a line. Luna had no reason to think he'd try to touch her now, so she started a little when he slowly started to reach out.

Hiccup hesitated – for a moment he was about to pull back and apologise, but then he decided to take the leap of faith. Very slowly, he held his palm out, keeping his gaze trained on the floor and not on Luna so he didn't spook her. In his peripheral vision he saw her edge closer, sniff curiously at his fingertips…and then she nudged her muzzle against his palm, briefly licked it, and turned back to her friends. *I told you so!* she declared triumphantly, spreading her little wings out.

The kits surged forward, fears forgotten as they crowded round to congratulate Luna. Hiccup smiled, relieved that he hadn't ruined their impression of him, and reached out to Toothless. Unlike Luna, he didn't hesitate to move towards his rider, nuzzling and licking Hiccup out of sheer relief. Hiccup didn't even complain about the sticky slobber; he just hugged his friend and scratched that itchy hard-to-reach spot behind his ear-fin. *I'm sorry, Hiccup. I shouldn't have teased you.*

"I'm sorry, too. I felt like you were patronising me, but I overreacted. I really am stupid. Friends?"

*Best friends* Toothless agreed, nuzzling him apologetically. He felt so bad that he'd not noticed Hiccup getting upset…they were heart bound, for Moon's sake. Shouldn't he have sensed it somehow?

Things settled back to normal after that…dragons would bicker over anything, and the arguments could get very heated – often literally, in their case – but once the argument or scuffle was over, everyone moved on. Longstanding rivalries and grudges were actually quite rare amongst dragons; only the ones who let their pride and anger get the better of them would have arch-enemies.

* * *

The next day, Toothless and Hiccup were in the gathering place, chatting with Corona, her twin sister Penumbra, and Corona's mate Ikalen. The large cavern, when it wasn't being used for gatherings, was still filled with dragons, clumping in small groups. Their little entourage, since it included their three guards, was one of the biggest there. Hiccup leaned back against Toothless, giggling as Corona told a story of the time Toothless, when he was just a fledgling, had flown shrieking through the forest chased by angry wasps after sticking his snout in their nest, thinking they were bees with honey.

Said dragon buried his snout in his paws and groaned in embarrassment. *Do we have to talk about this?*

Grinning, Hiccup was about to say he was finding it all very interesting, when there was a sudden commotion over at the other side of the cavern. Two males – they were stockier than the females, which was the only way Hiccup had of telling them apart from a distance – flew down from a tunnel high above and landed on the ground, snarling at one another. The dragons they'd displaced shrieked and yelped in irritation or surprise and flew off to nearby ledges.

The bigger of the two males snarled *She will choose _me_!*

*She might choose me!* the other male growled, *You're not even giving anyone else a chance!*

*She ought to have a strong, powerful mate.*

*I might be smaller than you, but I can still hold my own.*

*Prove it, then. I challenge you!* the first male cried, punctuating it with a furious shriek.

There were gasps and hisses of surprise all around – the smaller Fury started, eyes wide in shock; then he gathered himself and roared right back. They began circling each other, and as the other dragons backed off and Toothless shifted so he could better protect Hiccup, it became clear that a full scale fight was about to take place.

"Wait, they're fighting over a female? Shouldn't it be, y'know, _her_ decision?" asked Hiccup.

Nocte snorted and replied *If she _could_ decide, they wouldn't have to fight.*

The larger Fury suddenly lunged at the smaller, who just barely dodged the attack. Hiccup couldn't stop watching the fight, but it was hard to watch…especially because the smaller, more outmatched dragon had green eyes and looked, from where he was, a lot like Toothless. He flinched when the smaller, probably younger male was shoved against the wall and clawed at. "Isn't anyone gonna help him?"

*We can't* Toothless told him, *He was challenged, he has to fight alone.*

*How else can he prove he's the stronger?* Skylancer added, without taking his eyes off the battle. The air was filled with the snarls, roars and shrieks of the battling dragons, and the dragons watching them and urging them on; Hiccup doubted this would be a fight to the death, but given how viciously they were struggling with each other, he was afraid one of them would end up being killed accidentally.

The smaller Fury fought with all his might, biting and clawing for all he was worth, but the bigger Fury finally pinned him down on his back. He snapped up at his opponent and struggled, until said rival began to charge a plasma blast. Hiccups eyes widened in alarm and his mouth opened to cry out – but then the Fury who looked like Toothless let his head fall back, exposing his throat, and the victor swallowed his deadly fire. He threw his head back and roared in triumph, before leaping away.

The victorious dragon stood with his chest out and head held high; the loser backed off, head lowered submissively. There was a flurry of wing beats, and Selena flew into the cave, landing between the two males and looking very unhappy. *Were you two just fighting over me?* she demanded.

*I won* the bigger Fury announced proudly, *But Dairin put up a good fight, I'll admit. I promise, I'll be a very good mate*-

Selena whipped her tail round and smacked him across the face – Toothless liked to think she'd learned that trick from him. *I am not going to be your mate, you arrogant son of a lizard!* she snapped at him.

Dairin cautiously asked, *Then, will you be*-

*No!* Selena spun around to glare at him, and then sighed. *Dairin, you're a good drake, but I keep telling all of you, I don't want to be the mate of anyone if you all keep trying to…hunt after me and fight over me like I'm a prized toy* she explained, before glaring at the not so victorious male and adding, *So don't get any ideas!*

With that she took off again, kicking up a cloud of dust. The unnamed Fury snarled irritably and flew off after her. Dairin looked around, saw no-one trying to stop him, and quickly fled in the opposite direction.

Hiccup wasn't sure what to say after that…but it did make him wonder about a few things. "Is, uh, 'drake' the dragon-word for 'male'? What's the word for a female?" he asked curiously.

*Drakaina* replied Corona; she pronounced it 'Dra-cay-na'.

* * *

That night as they were eating dinner back in the healing cavern, Hiccup nudged Toothless playfully and remarked, "Looks like you have a chance with Selena after all, buddy."

His dragon stared at him as if he'd sprouted an extra head. *I have no idea what you're talking about.*

"Hey, you heard what she said; she doesn't want to mate with the other drakes because they keep fighting over her; they're not letting _her_ choose. Maybe she'll choose a drake who isn't going to treat her like an object – like you, for instance."

Toothless hooded one eye, so he appeared to be raising an eyebrow despite lacking them entirely. *You think she's going to choose me as her mate because I'm _not_ trying to attract her? That makes complete sense* he said sarcastically.

"It does!" Hiccup insisted, but Toothless just looked away and kept eating, pointedly closing the subject. Hiccup sighed and finished off the rest of the wildfowl he'd been eating – it might have been pheasant or something. Later on, he cleared his throat and asked, "So, if a dragon challenges another dragon, it has to be a one-on-one fight, yeah?"

*That's right…most scuffles end up with several dragons involved, because everyone is trying to win the argument by winning the fight. A challenge is different; it's only done to prove who's stronger, or to settle a score.*

Hiccup hesitated, and then asked, "When that…that Whispering Death showed up, you challenged it, didn't you? That's why you wanted to fight it alone."

*That's part of it…I was being foolish. I let my pride get the better of me…I don't blame you for it* Toothless assured him hastily, *But back then, I was still getting used to not having my full tail. I wanted to prove I could hold my own against a rival or enemy even without being able to fly. Besides…just a few weeks before then, you were hit by lightning when you were trying to stop that mob from sending me away. I didn't want you to get hurt helping me again* he admitted.

Hiccup stroked him affectionately and said "Aww, thanks, bud. It's nice to know you were just looking out for me."

*I didn't do it very well…I should have let you help me from the beginning. I'm sorry you had to jump off a cliff to make me realise that* Toothless apologised, nuzzling him.

"Hey, don't worry. The important thing is that we won…um, just out of, y'know, curiosity…why _did_ you challenge the Whispering Death? Why did you have such a grudge with it?"

Toothless looked away, ear fins pinning back, and whimpered uncomfortably; Hiccup rubbed comforting circles on his shoulder and said he didn't have to talk about it if he didn't want to. *No, it's okay. I trust you. You know how the Red Death suppressed my memories, and they only start coming back when something reminds me of them?*

"Yeah?"

*I realised from the scent in and around the tunnels that _that_ Whispering Death…was the one that…that killed my mother* Toothless revealed with a sad whine. Hiccup's eyes widened; he knew Toothless' father had been killed by hunters, but he hadn't wanted to ask what happened to his mother.

"Oh…I'm so sorry, bud" he sighed, leaning over to give Toothless a hug. Toothless curled a foreleg around him and hugged him back. He just knew Hiccup was wondering about it, so he began to describe what he remembered. *Shadow and I were out learning to hunt with her…we'd gone far inland, because it was winter and the fish had migrated, but there were still goats and boar to hunt in the mountains and forests.

*Shadow and I went off on our own and found Whispering Death tunnels. We thought it was another nest, like our own…we didn't check for scent marks and we should have. The Whispering Death cornered us, he got between us and a way out…but then our mother blasted him and he tunnelled away. We thought we were safe, but he was really angry – they're very territorial – and came back to attack us.

Our mother told Shadow and I to fly away whilst she held it off…I wish we hadn't listened to her. We were just so scared but then we went back to help her, but the Whispering Death was gone and she was…was...* Toothless' whines became a howl of grief, which he muffled in Hiccup's chest as his rider petted him and murmured comforting, apologetic nonsense.

Toothless, who was trying far harder to pay attention to his beloved human, asked *What's wrong? You seem worried.*

"I'm just sorry you had to go through that" Hiccup explained, before sighing, realising there was no point in trying to hide it. "Do you…remember what your parents were like?" he asked tentatively.

Several moments passed before Toothless answered. *My dad was called Tempest. I don't remember him as much…but your dad reminds me of him a little bit. He got cross very easily…I think we used to fly around shouting 'Tempest has a temper' until he got fed up and pinned us down* he reminisced, with a quiet amused purr, *He was good at fighting and taught us to fight so we could defend ourselves. I think Shadow was closer to him, they had more in common.

*I was more like my mum…I remember that she didn't want to hurt humans, she didn't think they all wanted to hunt and hurt us…if she was here…* he sighed and continued, *She was very kind, and she'd do anything to protect us, and…I think she would have liked you* he said with a toothless smile.

Hiccup smiled back and asked, "What was her name?"

*Ebony. Her name was Ebony.*

"That's a nice name" Hiccup smiled, petting him once more before yawning, and settling down to sleep. "Goodnight, buddy" he murmured.

*Goodnight…and Hiccup?*

"Yeah, bud?"

*Thank you for being there for me.*

"Thank you for the same."

* * *

A/N: Have a bit of humour after all that angst…If George Lucas wrote the HTTYD franchise then a certain scene in the sequel would have gone more like this:-

Hiccup – You killed my mother!

Valka – No, I _am_ your mother!

Hiccup – NOOO!

Toothless – WTF?

(I regret nothing XD).


	9. Time to Attack

Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD

A/N: Fun fact/minor disclaimer: I didn't make up the word 'drakaina', it actually is the name of a legendary Greek creature who was usually depicted as a woman from the waist up and a serpent from the waist down. I just appropriated it for my own use ;)

The song for this chapter is 'Crash and Burn' by Savage Garden.

Chapter Nine – Time to Attack

The next day, after breakfast, Hiccup and Toothless planned to meet and chat to their friends in the gathering place. The clusters and pairs of dragons already there were talking amongst themselves; a few of them shot the odd pair furtive glances, and gave them a wider berth than usual. Nothing seemed too out of the ordinary, all things considered, but Hiccup had grown up in a pretty tight knit village, and he recognised gossiping when he saw it.

When Corona, Ikalen and another friend they'd made, Silver, flew down to meet them, Hiccup said good morning and then asked, "Has something happened?"

Silver shrugged her wings and replied, *Oh, the Queen-to-be fought with Kaythe, that drake who won the challenge over her yesterday. It seemed her first rejection didn't sink in soon enough* she joked.

Hiccup's brow furrowed; that didn't sound like Selena. Toothless' eyes narrowed as well, but for a different reason. *Are you sure that's what everyone's talking about? Because I'm pretty sure I heard a few of them talking about Hiccup* he revealed.

Corona, Silver and Ikalen suddenly all looked sheepish, the way Toothless did when he'd been caught doing something he shouldn't, like sneaking fish out of the storeroom. *Everyone talks about Hiccup…I mean, we've all sort of gotten used to him, but it's still odd, having a human in the nest* Corona pointed out.

*Exactly, and I doubt anyone really believes the rumours about you* Ikalen told Hiccup in an attempt to be helpful. It only made him feel slightly better. Then Silver, who was a tad oblivious, blatantly declared, *Of course not, I mean you don't act anything like a hunter*.

"…Are they saying I'm a hunter?" Hiccup frowned, unable to keep the dismay from his voice, "Is this about what happened in the nursery yesterday?"

Corona winced, her ear-fins flicking back against her head. *We know you didn't mean it, but word got around, and this…silly rumour started, that you were secretly a hunter – but like Ikalen says, nobody really _believes_ it, and…well, there are lots of rumours about you. A lot of them just aren't sure what to make of you… _we_ weren't sure, but Obby would go on and on about the stories you told him and the other kits, and we figured you couldn't be so bad if you were making our son so happy* she purred.

Hiccup sighed…he'd figured there'd be rumours about him, but to hear it confirmed... "I guess this explains why everyone's still so reluctant to trust me" he figured, sitting down on a nearby flattish boulder. The fact that they had several centuries of being wary of humans behind them didn't help either.

Toothless gave a small, irritated snarl and coldly remarked, *I have a pretty good idea of who's spreading these rumours, and their names start with S and E.*

"Yeah…it wouldn't surprise me" Hiccup sighed; apart from Ekeren, Shadow was Toothless' only living family here, and they'd hardly seen the emerald green eyed Night Fury in the last two weeks. Hiccup didn't particularly care about Shadow's clearly low opinion of him, but it bothered him a little that the dragon seemed so willing to cut all ties with his younger brother just because Hiccup was present.

He had a feeling Eclipse was behind his absence somewhat; she seemed to dislike Hiccup even more. Apparently, she'd lost her parents at a young age to humans who tricked her into a trap by acting friendly, which gave her a lifelong distrust of humans. He'd felt sorry for her at first, but it was hard to be truly sympathetic when she'd rejected his attempts to reconcile and was, it appeared, spreading rumours to make him seem worse than he really was.

*I wish they'd just mind their own business. If they don't want anything to do with us, fine, I don't want anything to do with them either; but just because they hate us doesn't mean they have to be such… _eel-eaters_!* he snarled, frustrated, and then his eyes widened.

The other Night Furies flinched and stared and hissed in disgust. * _Toothless_!* Corona exclaimed, looking as if someone had actually presented her with an eel.

"Did you just swear?" asked Hiccup; his suspicion was all but confirmed when Toothless avoided his gaze, and he grinned cheekily. "For shame – ow!" he winced when Toothless thwacked him on the back of the head with his tailfin.

*Shut up* his dragon grumbled, *I didn't mean to…*

*Perhaps we should change the subject* suggested Nocte.

"Yeah, but maybe not too much? Cos I've been meaning to ask, you guys say 'for moon's sake' and 'by the moon' a lot, I was wondering, do Night Furies worship the moon?" Hiccup questioned eagerly, "Is it like your god? Do dragons have gods or do you believe in, like, spirits or something? Do you have your own myths and legends?"

*Hiccup!* Toothless nudged him, *We can't answer you if you keep talking* he pointed out, purring in amusement.

"Sorry."

Silver tilted her head in bemusement and said, *The moon is our Mother…and our Egg, I suppose. Haven't we told you this legend?* she asked. Hiccup shook his head and looked curious.

*The first ever Night Furies hatched from the dark side of the moon, in the beginning of the world* Ikalen began the story, *To this day, you can still see the cracks on the other side.*

*And they were white as the moon from which they hatched, not black…but then they grew cold and hungry, so they flew to the sun to steal its fire* Corona continued.

*They bit the sun and swallowed its fire for their own, and the sun tried to burn them to ashes, but it only turned them black and grey before the moon chased it away and saved them, and the sun and moon have been too high to fly to ever since* Silver finished the story.

Hiccup smiled widely; to think, dragons had their own origin myths! At this rate, the Book of Dragons was going to need a second volume. "Wow…that's a great story. It's better than our version" he said without thinking, and then winced. _Oops_.

The dragons looked puzzled. *Your version?* asked Skylancer.

"Uh, well…Vikings have a, um, saying about Night Furies...it isn't exactly flattering" Hiccup admitted awkwardly. The other dragons were interested now; whilst they each had their quirks and every kind was different, dragons also had a lot in common, and one of those common traits was curiosity. *That's not really surprising* said Ikalen, with an amused purr, *But since you bring it up, you should tell us what it is.*

So he took a deep breath, and explained, "According to our legends, Night Furies are…um…the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself."

Instead of being cross as he'd expected, the Night Furies just looked confused; except for Toothless, who was quite entertained by all this. *That is…a bit insulting* Ikalen admitted, *And confusing…I mean, the death part I can sort of understand, we can be deadly…but so could any dragon.*

*Are you sure this legend isn't meant for Lightning-Fangs?* asked Silver, *We don't have anything to do with lightning.*

*Ah, that isn't quite true, my friend* a familiar voice remarked as Ekeren joined their not-so-little group. All of them ducked their heads in respect, Hiccup included. *Mind if I join you?* he asked, his clouded eyes warm.

*Not at all, sir* Corona purred, *You were saying?*

*Well, I couldn't help overhear that last part…now, goodness knows we dragons are quick to anger, or at least you young ones are* Ekeren remarked cheerfully, *But it is said that if one of our kind is pushed right to the edge, their inner fire will burn so hot and bright, it will _burst_ * - he flared his wings - *from them all over, and they will glow with…well, the fury of lightning* he revealed, *A fierce blue light shining from beneath their spines and wings and from their throat.*

"Does that really happen?"

*I've heard of it happening* Silver admitted, *But I've never seen it happen; I always thought it was just a story.*

*They say that any Night Furies who reach that apex become so powerful, they can challenge even the most dangerous dragons imaginable and win* Skylancer added, with awe tinging his tone.

"Does this…effect have a name?" Hiccup asked curiously; the phenomenon intrigued him, and he wanted to put it in the Book of Dragons, but he needed to know what it was called first.

The dragons looked at one another, twitching ear-fins and shrugging wings. *I don't believe we've ever given it a name* Ekeren mused, before suggesting *Perhaps you would like to name it?*

*That's not a very good idea, grandfather* Toothless protested, but he was smiling mirthfully, *You've heard the sort of names Vikings come up with.* The dragons indulged in throaty chuckles at Hiccup's expense; he rolled his eyes good-naturedly and asked, "Are you sure you want _me_ to name it?"

*There's no harm in making a suggestion* Ekeren said reasonably. Silver perked her ears up eagerly, and remarked, *If we're making suggestions, how about 'Fire Glow', or 'Lightning Glow'?*

Corona swiped a paw at her half-teasingly and retorted *That sounds too obvious; it ought to be a bit mysterious – and less of a mouthful.*

Silver retaliated the swiping paw with a hiss and swipe of her own. *Let's see _you_ come up with something better!*

"Guys, guys, come on!" Hiccup protested, "Let's not start bickering over this, of all things."

The two females backed down and looked sheepish. *What do you think it should be called?* asked Silver; Hiccup blinked in surprise. They really wanted him to pick a name…he thought hard, not wanting to mess it up. The way Ekeren described it reminded him of the time Toothless had eaten some of the algae fed on by the Flightmare, and started glowing blue…which in turn reminded him of Arvindale's Fire. He had an idea…he wasn't sure about it, but an encouraging nudge from Toothless gave him the courage to say it aloud anyway.

"Um, how about…Fury's Fire?" he suggested, "Y'know, cos it only happens to Night Furies, and only when they're really, well, furious…it's a play on words…"

*I like it. It sounds cool* Toothless gave him a gummy, happy smile, and he couldn't help but smile back.

*Indeed; it's very fitting* Ekeren purred approvingly, a sentiment echoed by the other dragons. Even Dusk admitted, albeit slightly begrudgingly, that the name was acceptable. *I suppose it's settled then; Fury's Fire it is* Ekeren declared firmly.

A thought occurred to Hiccup and he asked, "Hey, Silver? Did, uh, did Selena really fight with someone? That doesn't sound like her."

*Yes, she did – right in the middle of the tunnel. He sort of had it coming, though, if you ask me – Kaythe has always been persistent, and not always in a good way* Silver revealed as she absently nibbled at an itch on her foreleg.

*With all respect to our Queen-to-be, her continuous refusal to choose a mate is hardly helping the matter* Nocte remarked with a disapproving snort.

Hiccup's brow furrowed a bit and he inquired, "Shouldn't it be her choice if she wants to have a mate or not?"

*She is going to have to choose one eventually.*

*We're not saying she should choose a mate just because they fought off all the competition* Corona assured Hiccup, *That's not why I chose Ikalen, after all* she purred, nuzzling her own mate. He returned the nuzzle and explained to Hiccup, *Selena is the Queen-to-be; she's the most desirable available female in the pack. So long as she refuses to choose a mate, every eligible drake in the nest will be competing for her affections. Once she chooses a mate, the rest will back down.*

*Unless it's Kaythe* Silver quipped.

"But it's like she said, she's not choosing a mate _because_ they're all competing over her" Hiccup pointed out. It reminded him of all the times Astrid had rejected Snotlout's attempts to flirt with her, usually by tossing the guy into a wall. He resisted the urge to smirk as he casually asked, "Could, uh, could she choose a mate who wasn't from this pack? Or who was, but had gone to a different one?"

Toothless rolled his eyes and groaned. *Must you keep bringing this up?*

*Are you attracted to her?* Silver asked curiously; Toothless winced as he realised that much like his rider, he'd said exactly the wrong thing. He felt like such an egg-for-brains…

Corona gave an amused purr and remarked, *I never thought about that, but she seems to like _you_. Goodness knows she goes out of her way to spend time with you and Hiccup.*

*That's just because we're friends!* he protested with an embarrassed whine, *I mean, yes, she's very nice…* _and she smells so good and her eyes are so bright and lively and she's funny and caring…_ *B-but you know, she belongs here and I'll be going home to my own pack. Now can we _please_ change the subject, for real this time?* he pleaded. Hiccup laughed and scratched him under the chin. "Sure, buddy. What do you want to talk about?"

*Anything but _me._ *

* * *

Hauke stood on the headland of the fjord, gazing down upon the procession of rattling cages that were being dragged, pushed and carried (to the accompaniment of much groaning and swearing) down the rough, steep path to the _Dark Tide._ Almost every single cage contained a dragon, caught in these very forests…although none of them, to his displeasure, held a Night Fury. In between setting traps and hunting for game, his men had staked out the mountain that Hauke suspected held the Night Fury's nest.

In the daytime, they saw not a hint of any jet black dragons…and at night, even when they fired up flares and flaming catapults, the elusive beasts were illuminated but in glimpses, too high to fire at. They could see large holes dotting the flanks of the ancient volcano, and he'd ordered his men to search out open ones or dig out the ones that were caved in.

It had seemed like an excellent plan, until the first three men to attempt this were found dead half a mile away from the mountain. Suddenly, everyone else was incredibly reluctant, no matter how much he threatened them.

Even the other dragons had proved difficult to capture; unbeknownst to Hauke, Hiccup had managed to persuade a few of the Night Furies to spread the word about the hunters, in an attempt to help dragons to avoid the bait and traps. A lot of them had been caught trying to help each other escape; one would come to tear or burn through a simple rope net, only to be snapped by iron traps that clamped their limbs painfully but didn't draw blood. Hauke needed his cargo to be as undamaged as possible.

They had been there for two weeks, and they were already two days behind schedule…but Hauke knew he would be rewarded handsomely if he captured a Night Fury. It was obvious that the beasts were residing in the ancient volcano, and finally, his patience had reached its limit. His second-in-command approached, scruffy brown beard blowing in the wind. "Tell the men that once the dragons are loaded and secure, to prepare for an assault on that volcano" Hauke ordered, pointing to the ancient mount.

"Yes, sir" Gunnhild replied with a curt nod. That was what Hauke liked about Gunnhild – he never asked questions aloud, but something about him made Hauke want to keep talking. Perhaps it was because Gunnhild himself hardly ever spoke, and when he did it was mostly like grunting.

So he decided to elaborate. "Tell them that they need to prepare as much as possible, because tonight, we are going to capture a Night Fury" he explained. Gunnhild betrayed his curiosity with only a slight quirk of the eyebrow; Hauke sighed and elaborated further. "It is painfully obvious, to only myself it seems, that there are night furies nesting within the tunnels that snake throughout that mountain" – he turned to point up to the jagged peak.

"The beasts know we're here…they are hiding from us. They fear us, Gunnhild. And with good reason", Hauke cracked his knuckles and continued, "We simply need to capture _one_ of them. More than one would be even better, but even just a single Night Fury would change our fortunes forever…in both senses of the word, if you see what I mean."

Gunnhild actually didn't quite see what he meant, but he nodded anyway. "Why tonight?" he asked gruffly.

"I'm glad you asked. These dragons come out at night – the clue is in the name – and we've heard and seen their fire blasts in the distance. When they're out hunting, the nest will be less occupied, less defended. In fact, we can target and capture the dragons attempting to defend it…no sense in getting ourselves lost in those tunnels, now is there?"

"No, sir" Gunnhild agreed. He gave a throaty cough and nodded to Hauke, saying "I shall go and spread the news to the others. We'll bag ourselves a Night Fury tonight, sir – I feel it in my bones."

Hauke returned to gazing out over the ocean, ignoring the growls and muffled shrieks of the dragons, lost in thought. Idly, he wondered if they would come across Hiccup's skeleton…he imagined the dragons had already devoured his flesh. There was no way he could still be alive, not with such a deep wound. It was possible that his crippled excuse for a Night Fury still lived, unless it had been killed by its fellows in an attempt at mercy because it couldn't fly and feed itself. Shaking his head, Hauke put the thoughts of the mysterious vanishing rider out of his mind, and went to prepare for the night ahead.

* * *

Unbeknownst to Hauke and Gunnhild, in the bushes nearby crouched a Terrible Terror, or as his kind called themselves, a Biter. He was named Yellow, because of his coloration, and he'd been hunting a rat when he saw a human approaching and skittered into the bushes to hide. Yellow was too afraid to fly away, especially when he saw all the spikes on the human and realised that this was one of the hunters he'd heard about.

Crouched in the bushes, little Yellow heard everything the two large, scary humans said – something about attacking a nest, and capturing a Night Fury. Like most dragons, especially the smaller ones, Yellow didn't always make the right connections. It didn't occur to him to go and warn the Night Furies about the hunters…that would mean going into their nest, and nests were not to be trespassed in.

Instead he turned his attention back to hunting, because he was very hungry…but he ended up telling another Biter who squabbled with him over his kill about the hunters, and she told another, and it was passed around from dragon to dragon until finally, one of them had the sense to warn a small hunting party of three Night Furies that there were humans planning to attack their nest.

The first that Hiccup and Toothless heard of it, they were in the nursery, regaling the kits with the story of the Flightmare. Hiccup had gotten so into the story that he'd started to pace back and forth, hands waving everywhere. Then again, when dragons told stories they often acted them out somewhat, moving about to better describe what had happened, so the kits didn't think it was odd.

He was just describing how the Flightmare had tried to paralyse them, when suddenly he heard a thought-spoken command - * **Come.** * In unison the adults stiffened, Toothless included, and fixed their suddenly slit pupiled gazes on the cave entrance. Hiccup was as bewildered as the kits. "Uh, guys?" he asked unsurely, waving a hand in front of Toothless' unsettlingly blank gaze. He was relieved when his dragon blinked, pupils returning to normal.

*The Queen wants us to gather… Come on, Obsidian* Penumbra, who was watching over her nephew in Corona's place, rose to her paws and began to chivvy the youngsters out of the cave. Hiccup returned to Toothless' side and walked along beside his dragon. "What's going on?" he asked curiously.

At some point the dragons had explained to him that the ability to hypnotise wasn't unique to the Red Death - all Queens and Alphas could do it to some degree, although only the most powerful could hypnotise dragons that were not their own kind. In fact, hypnosis was the wrong word…force of will would be more accurate. Dragons had an instinct to obey and respect their alpha, and the alphas themselves would with time, develop the ability to turn their thought-speak into irresistible commands. The only ones who couldn't hear said commands were the kits and fledglings.

He'd asked then, out of curiosity, who was the alpha of their pack at home. Toothless had told him that the Berk pack didn't have an alpha, per se – after the defeat of the Red Death, the dragons of her pack had scattered throughout the archipelago, with the majority of them nesting on Berk. He suggested that in a way, Hiccup himself was the Alpha of their pack, since the dragons listened to him more than they did any other human. Hiccup had just laughed and said he could barely picture himself as the Chief of the Hooligan Tribe, let alone as the Alpha of the Pack of Berk.

Selena had pointed out something that threw them both for a loop; since Toothless had fired the blow that killed the previous Queen, he'd defeated her in single combat and thus should have been the Alpha. They were both reminded of the numerous times that Toothless had told his fellow dragons to back off, or calmed them down, or led them…so perhaps the dragon's instinct to follow an alpha was still kicking in, even if they didn't outright acknowledge him as Alpha. To be honest, Toothless could no more imagine himself as the Alpha of their pack than could Hiccup.

They arrived in the gathering place; the kits hurried off to find their parents, and everyone perched on ledges or gathered on the floor, heedless of the rain that was falling through the opening high above. Queen Phoebe stood on her ledge, with the Elders perched above and behind her, and Selena beside her, Luna peeking out from beneath her elder sister's wing. The little kit caught Hiccup's eye and waved her tail at him; he smiled in spite of himself and gave her a little wave back, before returning his attention to the Queen.

When everyone was present and waiting, the Queen flared her wings for attention and revealed, *A hunting party has recently returned with a warning from other dragons- the human hunters who have been stalking our nest are coming tonight to attack it.*


	10. Lost Opportunities

Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD

A/N: The song for this chapter 'Angel with a Shotgun' by The Cab (recommended by Feroxis835). I was going to wait until a later chapter to recommend that song, but I've decided that it fits here as well. I'll figure something else out for the other scenes. I know the song is really a lover's song, but the idea of doing whatever it takes and fighting to keep someone you love alive and safe does come up in the chapter.

Chapter Ten – Lost Opportunities

The response was immediate; hisses, growls and screeches rose up in a cacophony, but the Queen roared louder than them all, and bombarded them with the command, * **Silence**!*

As quickly as the frightened uproar had begun, it quieted; but every dragon had their pupils slitted, whether in anger or in fear. Hiccup was afraid himself; the hunters were attacking the nest? He knew the Night Furies hadn't yet attacked _them_ , because of the risk that one would be captured and they'd be unable to mount a rescue. It was never easy for a dragon to leave their trapped pack-mates behind, but they could no more hope to free each other from many kinds of traps, than they could hope to fly to the sun and moon.

*All the kits, fledglings and nesting mothers must hide here in the gathering place; everyone else must be ready to defend them, and the nest, from these intruders* the Queen declared firmly.

Hiccup suddenly had an idea; at first he hesitated, not wanting to speak out of place, but this could solve a lot of their problems at once. Gathering up his courage, he stepped forward and cleared his throat. The Queen turned her piercing golden eyes on him, and the other dragons followed her gaze. "Uh, y-your Majesty, I…I…no, it, it doesn't matter. I'm sorry" he apologised, looking away, losing his nerve. Toothless tilted his head curiously, and with a worried croon asked *Hiccup, what is it?*

*I would like to know as well* the Queen declared firmly; the rest of the pack watched him expectantly. Their gazes weren't accusing, but Hiccup's request sounded selfish in his mind. With a deep breath he explained, "It's just, if they're attacking the nest, then their camp will be less guarded. You could…send a hunting party to destroy it", he swallowed hard, "And…and maybe, try to steal some fabric, a piece of tent or something – I need something to make a new tail-fin for Toothless."

There was a brief silence, and then Eclipse – of course it was Eclipse – hissed from her perch on a nearby ledge and said aloud what Hiccup had feared they would think. *Why should we do that? It's your fault these hunters found us in the first place!*

Toothless glared at her and snapped his fangs out. *Don't blame Hiccup -the hunters already knew there were Night Furies here, they'd have found the nest eventually. Besides, we _need_ to make a new tail-fin. Otherwise you'll will never be rid of us…although, wouldn't a piece of sail work better?* he asked Hiccup in a gentler tone, *You've made a tail-fin from a sail before – I don't remember you ever making one from a _tent_ * he pointed out. He'd seen what humans used to sleep outside without being rained or snowed on…they were very flimsy.

"Yeah…yeah, that's a good point; and attacking their ship would mean we'd have a chance to rescue the dragons they must be holding captive on board" Hiccup realised, running a hand agitatedly through his thick mop of auburn hair, the gears in his head turning.

Penumbra tilted her head and reminded him, *We can't really get each other out of traps and cages.*Dragons only knew what they had learned from experience and what they were taught, and it was difficult to learn to break open traps when doing so put oneself at risk as well. Besides, most traps were designed to be impossible for dragons, with their large, finesse lacking claws and teeth, to open.

"No, but _I_ can" Hiccup told her with a grin, his confidence returning, "If I can just get a piece of sail, and something sharp to cut it into shape with, I can repair Toothless' tail-fin. Without their ship the hunters will be helpless; you guys can finish them off whilst I free the dragons they've captured."

*That's what you _say_ * Shadow remarked suddenly from his perch beside Eclipse, *How do we know you won't just fly away the moment you get this fake tail-fin repaired?*

Before either Hiccup or Toothless could reply, Selena rolled her eyes and retorted, *Oh, give it a rest, Shadow. Hiccup and Toothless have given us no reason to doubt them…the only reason anyone does is because you and your mate have been spreading lies about them.*

Shadow, and Eclipse beside him, jerked back in shock, pupils slitting even further. The Queen gave a warning growl and demanded, *Selena, I have told you many times not to accuse anyone without proof. Do you _have_ proof of your claim?*

The Queen-to-be shifted uncomfortably, avoiding her mother's eyes. *Not…exactly…but really, mother, who else could it be? For them, it's personal* she pointed out.

*Then you should not get involved* the Queen reprimanded her; Selena's eyes narrowed and she glared defiantly, only to be cowed by her mother's will and thought-speak commanding * **Enough.** *

"I wouldn't just leave" Hiccup said quietly, but in the silence of the cave it was easily heard. "I know I can't prove that…just like I can't prove that I'm not going to tell anyone about this nest. _Please,_ just this once, trust me. I… _we_ " he amended, gesturing to his dragon, "Can't get home without your help…and then you'd be stuck with me, and I don't think any of you want that" he joked a bit. To his relief and slight surprise, quite a few of the dragons chuckled, albeit good-naturedly.

*Very well; I approve* the Queen decided; she looked at Shadow, who ducked his head respectfully, and insisted, *and I'm sending _your_ hunting party to retrieve the piece of sail, since you want Toothless-Hiccup to leave the nest so badly.*

Shadow and Eclipse both looked like they wanted to protest, but didn't dare. *Yes, my Queen* Shadow replied tensely.

* * *

They didn't know when the hunters planned to attack – only that it would be some time that night, and sundown was fast approaching. It was a tense time for the next few hours, and it would get even tenser…many of the dragons lost their appetites, and none dared to go hunting, so the meat and fish they'd buried in snow filled hollows was shared out amongst the kits and the sick and elderly. Hiccup's stomach was twisted with nerves and guilt so much that he didn't feel like eating either.

At first he thought they'd hide in deeper tunnels – surely, there must have been some, given how randomly Screaming Deaths and Whispering Deaths seemed to move through the earth. The more he thought about it, though, the more he realised the gathering place was better. There were only a few tunnels on ground level that could be guarded, but plenty of tunnels that the dragons could escape through, carrying the kits – and the fledglings, for although the bigger dragonets were learning to fly they weren't ready for a sudden dash.

It escaped neither of them that Hiccup and Toothless couldn't fly. If the hunters made it into the gathering place – Moon and Sun forbid – then they'd be all but trapped; but Toothless had no intention of going down without a fight. Normally he held back when fighting humans – his riders' pacifistic tendencies had rubbed off on him somewhat – but for those wretches he would show no mercy. If they tried to take him from Hiccup, or kill his rider, he would kill them first.

Little did he know, Hiccup was thinking along the same lines. He felt frustrated that he couldn't do more to help defend the nest; but he was determined to help protect the youngsters, who were huddled together with their grandparents, siblings and friends, whimpering and whining nervously. He wouldn't let anything happen to them…or to Toothless. He'd die before he -

That thought pulled him up short and made his breath catch. Luckily, Toothless didn't notice. He'd not really considered it before then, but Toothless' life now depended on him keeping himself alive, and vice versa. He'd known that meant he'd have to take fewer risks, but he hadn't thought about what would happen if they were attacked. He wondered…could he kill to protect his best friend?

Ekeren had told them once that heart bound pairs felt a strong instinct to protect each other at all costs. At first, Hiccup told himself he could kill the hunters to protect Toothless…but wasn't that just his instincts talking? The hunters were cruel, but for all he knew they had homes somewhere, and families…but then why should he care? They were dangerous, and if he killed them it would be in self-defence, so didn't that make it okay?

Hiccup's normally peaceful nature warred with his instinct and undeniable desire for revenge. It made him tense and this, Toothless did notice. *Are you okay?* he asked gently. Hiccup, who was sitting on a boulder beside him, sighed and ran a hand over his crown. "Yeah" he said quietly, "I'm just…wondering what I'll do if…the hunters get in here."

*Don't worry* Toothless told him earnestly, *I'll protect you.* Hiccup smiled at him and gave him a scratch under the chin, making him purr almost involuntarily. "I know you will…I'm thinking more about how I'm going to protect _you._ I'm…wondering if I'd be able to…to kill them to keep us alive" he confessed in a whisper. He was glad none of the kits were nearby, or had as good a sense of hearing as the adults – he didn't want them thinking of him as capable of killing. _He_ didn't like to think he was capable of killing.

Toothless snorted lightly, a little mockingly, and asked *Kill them with what? Your metal foot?* His rider sighed and looked sheepish at the reminder that he wasn't exactly armed. *Would you be angry if I killed them?*

"No…they'd deserve it" Hiccup replied with uncharacteristic bitterness in his voice.

*I doubt they'll get this far, but if they do, let _me_ deal with them, and you can watch my back, okay?*

"Okay" he nodded. Toothless pressed his muzzle to Hiccup's side and nuzzled him a bit, purring. The vibration against his ribs tickled and Hiccup squirmed away, clamping a hand over his mouth to stop a snigger from escaping. Toothless pulled back…he resisted the urge to keep tickling, because now really wasn't the time, but Hiccup could see the mischievous gleam in his eyes. _I am so done for_ he thought resignedly.

* * *

A few hours after sunset, when the forests were lost in shadow and the shrieks of dragons echoed eerily through the night, a procession of armed men marched through the trees to the base of an ancient volcano. Their leader had ordered them to light no torches, so as to not give away their approach to their elusive quarry. Yet the sky was clear, the moon lighting their way, and Hauke took it as a good omen from the gods.

It was a tough trek in the darkness, and there were many bruised knees and shoulders, but they came to the mountain at last. Hauke ordered several of his men to start digging out the collapsed tunnel that the Night Fury tracks led to. The rest he instructed to watch the mountain and the sky, dragon-root tipped arrows at the ready. When one hapless soul questioned how they would see the black dragons in the dark, he punched the man to the ground and then calmly explained that they simply had to _listen_ for the distinctive whistle-shriek of the dragons charging a blast.

Even with this warning, they could only scatter when a burst of purplish light streaked towards them from within the tunnel, and exploded where they'd been standing. Then another plasma blast struck from their right, a second from behind them, and a third from the left. Hauke swore and pulled out the fire sword he'd stolen from Hiccup. Clearly the former Dragon Master had a bit of a show-off streak. He ignited it and barked at the nearest hunter to hold it whilst he used it to light a flaming arrow.

He took aim at the first glint of purple light he saw, the silhouette of a dragon with viciously gleaming yellow eyes diving towards him…and loosed the string. The fiery, poisoned point sped upwards; just as the creature released its deadly blast and pulled out of its dive, the arrow hit home. The dragon let out an unholy shriek, struggling to stay airborne, the arrow protruding from beneath its wing joint. "Get a net on that dragon!" he yelled as it came down.

The hunters rushed to obey; but no sooner had they begun to approach the downed dragon, than more surrounded it, snarling and blasting fireballs on all sides. The dragons fought viciously, monstrously. One leapt on the nearest hunter, tearing into his screaming throat with claws as sharp as daggers even as it forced the others back with its fire and scything tail. The others dragged the downed dragon back towards the mountain, into the tunnel that they'd dug out and then abandoned in a panic.

There were only ten men there – three had been left behind to guard the camp. Ten men against nearly a whole nest of Night Furies, the dragon that all the tales said one should run from, the legendary demon of darkness…it was no contest, really. The hunters managed to shoot several more down, and tried to just capture and drag off one, just _one dragon,_ but its fellows kept bombarding them and defending one another and their nest with the zeal of hardened, war-crazed Berserkers.

He wanted to scream at them, to rage at the dragons; but all air was forced from his lungs as Gunnhild tackled him out of the way of a plasma blast. The fire-sword was knocked out of his hands and went out as it clattered to the ground, but Hauke barely noticed. "Chief, they'll destroy us all at this rate! We have to retreat!" the normally stoic man of few words shouted. Hauke swore again; he'd be back for these damned dragons, and next time he'd bring back-up. " _Fall back_!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, " _Fall back_!"

In all honesty, only five of the men survived the onslaught, and they were practically running for their lives before he'd even given the order. They fled back to the camp…or rather, to where they'd _left_ the camp. The tents were now smouldering wrecks, with the dead bodies of three more hunters lying in the wreckage. The survivors spat and cursed the dragons names – these had been friends of theirs, dependable warriors – not the kindest of men, none of them were, but they were all in it together. How that boy could think to befriend such monsters!

They rushed to the ship, fearing the worst. It wasn't burning, thank Odin; but the sail was in tatters, and much of the rigging had been blasted or bitten through. Hauke stared at the remains of the sail and swore, that when he returned with more manpower and more weapons and a _better plan,_ he would kill the first Night Fury he captured and mount its skin on his wall!

"Take that sail down and lash up a new one, now!" he barked, "We've got enough dragons for now, and may the gods curse those winged demons. We set sail as soon as the wind changes…we have other business to attend to."

* * *

Many arrows were loosed into the black sky that night, striking down many dragons. The combined defence of nearly every Night Fury, except for those needed to defend the dragonets, stopped the hunters from carrying away any of their pack-mates. The hunters had frustratingly good aim – even whilst being dive bombed from all sides, they managed to hit seven dragons – out of thirty, that was no real loss, but the downed dragons kept writhing and shrieking in pain. *It burns!* They cried, *It _hurts_!*

Everyone gathered in the caldera looked up in relief when the rest of the pack emerged from the tunnels. The Queen hovered in the middle and declared, *The hunters have been driven away – our nest is safe!*, punctuating it with a triumphant roar.

Hiccup had to clamp his hands over his ears as the dragons cheered, echoing their Queen's roar. Dragons rushed to find their mates, fledglings scrambled to greet their parents – then a drakaina with very pale blue eyes flew in with a shriek of fear, crying out *Help!*

She flew over to Hiccup and Toothless' little entourage, which included Ekeren and Selena (who hadn't been allowed to join the fight, much to her chagrin). Much to Hiccup's surprise, she locked gazes with him and begged, *Help me, please! My Onyx was hit, he's in pain – the arrow is too deep for me to pull out!*

"I can help" Hiccup said at once, already heaving himself up onto Toothless' shoulders, "Lead the way."

*It's not just my Onyx, six more were brought down, they're all in such pain!* the drakaina whimpered, before flying off down the tunnel. Everyone scrambled out of the way as Toothless ran after her as quickly as he could. Through the twisting tunnels they ran, Hiccup trusting his dragon's superior senses to navigate the darkness. At last they reached the first few healing caverns, tunnels and caves in which several night furies lay slumped on the ground, moaning as infrequent spasms wracked their bodies.

Toothless and Hiccup recognised the effects of dragon-root arrows at once. The female they'd followed was huddled beside a drake with dark blue eyes, nuzzling him and crooning _comfort_ even as she whimpered _fear._ *Don't worry, love, you'll be okay. Hiccup…he can get the arrow out from under your wing* she told him, pushing at him so he shifted onto his side. She looked up at Hiccup pleadingly and nervously stepped aside.

He slipped down from Toothless' back and approached them, cautiously holding his hand out towards the injured male. Onyx's peculiarly dark gaze flickered from his face to his fingertips…he clenched his eyes shut and groaned in pain, tail lashing and claws digging into the earth. *Help me, please* he winced. Hiccup stopped trying to seem unthreatening and hurried to the dragon's side. The arrow was lodged beneath his wing joint, half the shaft broken where his mate had tried to pull it out.

In a matter of moments, he'd eased the arrow head free – sure enough, beneath the dark red blood it was tinged acidic green. Hiccup moved away so Onyx's mate could return to his side and licked his wound. It turned out that dragon saliva, for all it reeked of fish (to human noses, at least), could clot blood and soothe dragonfire burns – helpful, considering all the squabbles they got into.

Despite the arrow's removal, Onyx still squirmed and groaned in pain. *I've never seen arrow wounds cause this much pain* Ekeren remarked with a worried croon. Hiccup wrapped the arrow head in a piece of Toothless' torn tail-fin – he'd stuffed the torn pieces into his pockets just in case he found a use for them at some point.

"It's not the arrows" he explained, "It's what's on the arrows. They're coated in dragon-root – y'know, the plant that makes dragons irrationally aggressive. Most dragons are just weakened by these arrows, but for some reason Night Furies react worse."

*But don't worry, Hiccup knows the cure* Toothless added hastily. All eyes fixed on him, and Hiccup gulped. "Uh, y'know, it normally wears off after a while…" he said awkwardly.

Toothless nudged him and insisted, *It might not wear off for our kind – and even if it does, they're in pain right now. You have to tell Ekeren what the cure is, Hiccup – otherwise these dragons could die* he said earnestly; it was unpleasant to think about, but it could happen. They didn't know, and he didn't want to find out.

The sick dragons and those trying to tend to them looked alarmed, especially Onyx and his mate; she whined _afraid_ and desperately asked *Die? No, I don't – I don't want us to die!*

"Us?" asked Hiccup, realising… "Are you and Onyx…?"

*Heart bound, yes. Misty-Onyx…nice to meet you* she replied, purring a bit in spite of herself. Hiccup briefly returned the smile and said "You too. I can give you the cure, but I want to warn all of you – the cure seems to hurt worse than the poison" he warned the cavern at large.

*It doesn't last long, though* Toothless reassured them – he spoke from experience, *and the cure does work – I've had it myself.*

"We just need bitter-weed, a piece of fire fern, and…purple oleander, mixed with hot water to make the cure" Hiccup told Ekeren. As he spoke, he moved over to another sick dragon and pulled out the arrow head from their scales. The dragons didn't ask him to, but they didn't protest either.

*I'm familiar with all those plants, and I have them…except for this purple oleander. Could you describe it?* the elderly dragon asked him.

"Yeah, they're small with five petals, and they're purple – obviously – darker at the edges and lighter in the middle."

*That sounds like the blue death-flower* a familiar but unexpected voice announced; Black Fire had entered the cavern. He looked at Hiccup and explained, *We tore the sail to shreds and brought the largest piece back for you – we left it in the cavern you've been sleeping in. What's going on?*

*These dragons have been poisoned with dragon root* Ekeren informed him, *And Hiccup was just explaining the cure.*

*A cure that involves the blue death-flower?*

"It's _purple_ oleander" Hiccup corrected, "I know _blue_ oleander is poisonous to dragons, but purple oleander is different. There's something in it that counter-acts the dragon root" he explained, "Please, you just have to trust me on this."

*There's a clearing not far from the nest where I've seen flowers like that* Skylancer recalled suddenly.

Ekeren urged him, *Hurry then, fetch as many as you can. Black Fire, come help this old drake gather the other ingredients.* Despite being older and presumably weaker than the younger male, he still managed to shoulder Black Fire back towards the mouth of the cave.

"Black Fire?" Hiccup called suddenly; the orange-yellow eyed dragon looked back at him. "Thanks – for getting the piece of sail, I mean."

*….You're welcome* he replied after a moment, before following Ekeren out of the cave.

The dragons had done their best to pull out the poisoned arrows, but there were few good substitutes for opposable thumbs and fingers. Hiccup worked his way through the healing caverns, getting the arrows out from under scales. When he'd gotten all seven, he returned to Toothless – who had been keeping Misty and Onyx company – and found his dragon and Misty together had dug a deep hole in the dirt. He buried the arrowheads, still wrapped in pieces of tough fabric – hopefully they wouldn't cause any more harm.

"I'm sorry, Misty" Hiccup sighed, "I know this must be hard for you". It was hard for him, seeing the dragons so weak and helpless, and remembering when Toothless had been suffering like this.

*It's not your fault* she told him, resting her wing over her mate's back and nuzzling him, *Thank you for helping us*. Onyx was too weak to reply, but he glanced up at Hiccup and purred in gratitude. *I wish we'd come to meet you sooner* Misty confessed.

Hiccup couldn't help but ask, "Why didn't you?"

Misty sighed and admitted, *We were nervous.*

"Am I really that scary?" he asked, half-jokingly.

*Not because of you. It's just…* Misty's ear-fins flicked backwards and she couldn't meet his eyes…she was embarrassed. *Onyx and I are quite low in the hierarchy.*

That garnered an eyebrow raise. "So? Toothless and I are so far down the pecking order, we're not even on it."

Misty briefly purred _amusement._ *Yes, but you spend so much time with high-ranking dragons, even with the Queen-to-be; and you told us you were the son of your chief, and that's a human Alpha, isn't it? So in your own pack, you're very high-ranking.*

*Our pack doesn't have a Queen or an Alpha, so we don't really have a hierarchy* Toothless informed Misty.

"And yeah, I'm the chief's son, but that doesn't make me better than anyone" Hiccup insisted, "And Selena wouldn't mind at all if you joined us – she doesn't seem to be that bothered about her status. Come to think of it, how do dragon hierarchies work?" he asked, mostly to keep his mind off their current predicament; that, and he'd take any excuse to learn more about dragons.

*Well, the Alpha or Queen are at the top of the hierarchy, of course. Then their family is a step below them, followed by the Elders; those in the pack who have lived the longest and learned the most. Most pack-members inherit their place in the hierarchy from their parents. Age is important for deciding one's place in the hierarchy; so is strength and cleverness, and how much each dragon contributes to the nest. Our Queen does the most for us; she keeps the peace, keeps us together and drives us to fight to protect our home and each other* explained Misty.

At last, the dragons gathered enough of all the ingredients (except water, which they had plenty of) to mix up batches of the cure in old helmets and animal skulls. Hiccup picked up a helmet filled nearly to the brim with purple antidote and took a deep breath. "Okay, here goes nothing…this isn't going to be pleasant" he warned Onyx apologetically. The weakened drake just sighed and remarked, *Being healed…rarely is…but it's better than…staying sick.* He opened his jaws and Hiccup quickly poured the liquid onto his tongue.

The effect was immediate; Onyx suddenly jerked up and roared in pain, thrashing his head like there were bees inside it before suddenly collapsing. *Onyx!* Misty cried, trying to nuzzle her heart bound mate, only for him to jerk again and groan. Hiccup winced, cringing. "I'm sorry" he said desperately, wishing they'd just waited, surely the effects would have worn off – it didn't kill other dragons, why would Night Furies be any different?

 _Because there's no dragon quite like them_ a little voice in his head whispered, _If they're affected worse, who's to say it couldn't kill them?_

All around, dragons recoiled, hissed and growled in protest and alarm. *You told us that purple flower _wasn't_ poisonous!* Black Fire cried accusingly.

"It isn't!"

*Onyx? Onyx, talk to me love, are you okay?* Misty asked desperately. Yet Onyx seemed incapable of speech; he reared up with a shriek and then dropped to all fours again, eyes slitted and mouth gaping.

Toothless got between Hiccup and any dragon who might try to attack him out of anger, and insisted *Misty, just hold on. It doesn't last that long!*

It was so difficult to watch, that it might as well have lasted hours…but only five minutes later, Onyx collapsed one last time…and then blinked his eyes open. His pupils were rounded and they immediately sought out Misty, who warbled in relief and nuzzled him. *Hello, my Misty…I'm sorry for scaring you* he apologised. She purred, briefly licked his cheek and asked *How are you feeling?*

*I feel fine, believe it or not. All the pain is gone…I don't know what came over me* he confessed, wrapping a wing around her as she tucked her head under his. Onyx's eyes sought out Hiccup and Toothless. *You were right…thank you* he purred gratefully, before resting his head atop Misty's, the two of them curling their tails together. It was a heartwarming sight, and Hiccup smiled even as his shoulders sagged in relief. "Oh, thank Thor."

Ekeren looked the young man over and decided, *I think I can handle things from here. You'd best get your rider to bed, grandson; he looks exhausted.*

*Good idea…come on, you* Toothless insisted, nudging at Hiccup and pushing him to his feet. Suddenly too tired to protest, and reluctant to see and hear the dragons suffering through the cure, Hiccup climbed up onto his shoulders. "Bye, Misty-Onyx…get well soon" he said to the resting pair. Toothless picked his way out of the cavern and padded swiftly down the tunnel, with Skylancer and Nocte on either side of him.

They weren't quite out of earshot when they heard a pained roar echoing from behind them; clearly, another Night Fury was braving the antidote. Hiccup cringed at the sound, keeping his gaze fixed on the back of Toothless' head. Then Nocte, of all dragons, crooned _sympathy_ and remarked *You did the right thing, telling us about the cure. It might not be pleasant, but it works, and now we can use it if this ever happens again.*

In spite of everything, Hiccup smiled gratefully at the green eyed drake. "Thanks, Nocte."

On the floor of their cavern, a large piece of torn black canvas had been left close to where Hiccup had put aside Toothless' gear. They paid it no mind, curling up in their usual spot to sleep. Their cave was further from the other healing caverns, with more empty caves and tunnels in between; even so, it was a while before Hiccup fell asleep, imagining he could still hear them shrieking…

* * *

Hours later, a thoroughly drowsy Hiccup was woken by his body deciding that yes, it was time to get up. Skylancer came in to check if they were awake, just as Hiccup was returning to Toothless' side. *All the downed dragons had the cure; they're fit and well* he told Hiccup, before adding with a small whine of regret, *But I have some bad news. I know you wanted to mount a rescue for the dragons captured by the hunters…but their ship has left shore, and nobody knows where it might have gone.*

Hiccup's jaw dropped. "B-b-but, Shadow – the sail – they – it…" his eyes widened, and he slapped his palm against his face. "They had a spare, of course they did, how could I be so stupid?" he complained, starting to pace, muttering and pulling anxiously at his hair. Toothless was reminded of Dagur before he stopped being quite so deranged, and he sighed, getting to his feet. *I can handle this* he assured Skylancer, who was staring curiously at Hiccup.

The older drake left the cavern, and Toothless moved towards Hiccup. His rider turned around and announced, "We need to leave. W-we need to, to fix your tail and then we'll fly out and find that ship and rescue those dragons and, and – well, don't just stand there, buddy, let's get going!"

He started walking towards the gear; Toothless' swept his tail across and tripped his rider up. Hiccup toppled unceremoniously to the ground with a yelp, and before he could try to get up again, Toothless lunged forwards and tugged off his metal foot. "Hey! Gimme that!" he cried, grabbing at it fruitlessly.

Toothless backed away a few steps, dropped the prosthetic from his gummy mouth and put his paw on it. *We're not going anywhere* he said calmly. One of them had to be sensible here.

"Yes, we are!" Hiccup asserted, "We already abandoned those poor dragons once, we can't do it again! Now give me my foot back" he demanded. Toothless didn't move, and Hiccup scowled at him. "I mean it…there will be consequences! I…I'm your rider, so you have to do as I say!"

His dragon merely _looked_ at him, exuding disapproval; Hiccup groaned and hung his head. "Yeah, okay, I wouldn't have listened to me either. Please?" he begged, "C'mon, bud, you know I need it."

*I'll give you your foot back when you promise to stop being so stupid and impulsive* Toothless replied bluntly, *This is just the sort of thing that keeps getting us into trouble, you know*. He gave a sympathetic croon and added, *I feel awful about having to leave those dragons to their fate…but that ship is long gone, Hiccup, and even if we knew where they had gone, I wouldn't take you anywhere near those monsters. I won't risk you…risk us…for strangers, even if they are fellow dragons. I'm sorry, Hiccup.*

Hiccup sighed heavily; as much as he hated to admit it, Toothless was right. "I promise…I guess we just have to lose that battle. Can I please have my foot back now?"

Toothless picked it up and dropped it in Hiccup's lap; his rider stroked his head gratefully before putting the prosthetic back on. He looked up just in time to get a face-full of saliva. "Eugh! _Toothless_!" he protested, trying to push the dragon's large head away. Toothless warbled cheerfully and just kept licking at him, forcing him to scramble backwards, before pressing his snout against Hiccup's ribs and purring loudly.

Hiccup giggled, squirming, and tried in vain to push Toothless back so he could sit up. Toothless batted at his arm playfully, and pushed it back to the ground, pinning it…Hiccup could practically see the gears whirring in his head. "Oh no, no, no, no, don't you dare!" he protested; it was too late. Toothless quickly pinned his other arm down, taking care not to dig his claws in, and proceeded to lick and tickle his helpless rider without any interruptions.

He laughed, that distinctive guttural chuckle, and moved aside so Hiccup could sit up again. *If that didn't cheer you up, I don't know what will* he commented. Hiccup flicked some of his own spit at him and replied, "Thank you for nothing, you useless reptile", grinning from ear to ear.


	11. All These Doubts

Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD

A/N: The songs for this chapter are 'Pieces' by Rob Thomas, and 'I'll Stand By You' by The Pretenders (the Glee version is pretty good too :)).

Chapter Eleven - All These Doubts

Once they'd eaten, Hiccup and Toothless turned their attention to the piece of torn sail left near the saddle and harness. It was too big, but they could find a way to cut it to size. The material was of good quality, and the black colour matched Toothless' living tail fin. Really, there was nothing wrong with using this piece of sail as a temporary replacement.

*I don't like it* Toothless remarked bluntly, wrinkling his nose at the innocuous piece of fabric. It wasn't even half as good as his smart scarlet tail fin, embossed with the Hooligan insignia. Hiccup pulled a bit of a face too as he looked it over. "Yeah…I'm not thrilled about using a piece of _their_ sail either; but what choice do we have?"

With a snort of disapproval, Toothless reluctantly agreed that they didn't have much choice. Hiccup reached to pick up the fabric and unfold it properly; as he gathered it up, he spotted something underneath it; Hiccup froze, staring, and then dropped the sailcloth and scrambled backwards, eyes wide, panting. *Hiccup?* Toothless asked with a worried croon, *what's wrong?*

Hiccup didn't reply; he stared at the piece of sail with fear in his eyes, one hand reflexively pressed to his left side. Toothless crooned _worry_ again and moved closer, but Hiccup didn't respond. Then he nudged his snout against his riders arm, and Hiccup gasped, flinching away and cowering, arms over his head as if to protect himself from blows. He was shaking like a leaf.

Now Toothless was very worried, not to mention confused. Why was Hiccup so upset? He'd been fine until…Toothless looked at the piece of jet black sailcloth. Hiccup had picked it up and then flinched from it as a dragon would flinch from an eel. The sailcloth had upset him somehow…Toothless suddenly felt his inner fire surge up into his throat, but he quickly forced it back down. That was odd…normally that only happened when he felt threatened, his instincts took over and he readied his fire to defend himself.

What about this piece of cloth could make him see it as a threat? True, it bothered him a little that it was part of the hunter's sail, the people who had hurt Hiccup so badly…

Once again, he felt an overwhelming urge to torch the horrid cloth, and just barely resisted. He had to lap up some water from the stream to get rid of the heat in his mouth. Toothless just didn't understand, and he struggled to work it out. The sailcloth was bad and it had frightened Hiccup, it had somehow made Hiccup frightened of _him._ He wanted to destroy it, but he couldn't, because they needed it to replace his lost tail-fin.

Toothless wracked his brain; if he just thought hard enough, maybe he'd remember something that would explain what was going on. He couldn't think of what it might be, so he had to rely on what he knew. In his mind's eye he saw Hiccup stare at something on the ground as he gathered the cloth into his arms – and right after that, his rider had felt threatened. So…was it something _beneath_ the cloth that had upset him? Toothless wasn't really sure, but it couldn't hurt to check…

Very cautiously, he moved towards the sailcloth, pausing to glance at Hiccup. He whimpered sadly _,_ he wanted to comfort his rider but Hiccup had flinched away from him and Toothless didn't want to frighten him more. When dragons were spooked they often lashed out, attacked any creature nearby even if it wasn't who or what had startled them…Hiccup was a human, but from what Toothless had seen, humans tended to lash out when they were alarmed as well.

He sniffed at the sailcloth, and then gingerly closed his jaws over a fold, keeping his teeth in so he didn't damage it. He pulled it back and looked underneath it. There was a small blade lying on the dirt, glinting in the light from the glowing algae that grew on the cave walls. What was it doing there? Had the blade frightened Hiccup?

That made a little more sense, blades _were_ scary, but Hiccup had seen blades before and not been so scared. Toothless dropped the cloth and turned back to Hiccup, edging as close as he dared. *Hiccup? Hiccup, can you hear me?*

Hiccup didn't reply. What was wrong, what was happening to him?

*It's okay* the dragon crooned reassuringly, fretfully shifting on his paws _,_ *I'm here. Hiccup, please talk to me. I…I don't know what's wrong, I'm not as clever as you are* he admitted, *You're frightened but I don't understand why. Is it the blade?*

Hiccup flinched. *It can't hurt you* Toothless tried to reassure him, *It can't move on its own…are you sick?* he guessed, starting to feel desperate, *Do you need to see Ekeren?* Surely the older and wiser Night Fury would be able to tell what was wrong with Hiccup.

*Please don't be scared. You're safe, no-one's hurting you. Hiccup, I don't understand! You're scaring me!* Toothless cried with an anxious whine, ear-fins pinned back. At last, Hiccup uncurled a bit and raised his head, still trembling. "T-Toothless?" he asked uncertainly, reaching a hand out, and then shifting so he could sit up and hug his dragon properly. Relieved to have him back, Toothless wrapped a paw over his back and returned the hug.

Then Hiccup sat back on his heels, and Toothless lay down in front of him so they could look one another in the eye. Hiccup's eyes softened as he met his dragon's deep, soulful gaze. "I'm sorry I worried you" he murmured apologetically.

*It's okay…but I still don't understand what was wrong.*

"I…I think I'm…a little bit battle haunted" Hiccup explained, running his hand over Toothless' head. The familiar sensation of warm, smooth scales beneath his palms helped him calm down. Toothless was confused; Hiccup hadn't been in a battle, at least not recently. "What I mean is…sometimes your mind plays tricks on you.

"There are stories, of warriors coming back from raids or wars and sometimes…their wounds would heal, and they'd seem fine for days or weeks or even months…but then they'd see or hear something and suddenly freeze up, or lash out, or scream…and they say afterwards, it was like they were back in the battle, watching their friends get killed or their limb being lost."

Hiccup sighed and looked down at his lap. "We've had a lot of close shaves…and I've been captured before, but I…I've never been torturedbefore" he murmured, shuddering. He could only think of a couple of times he'd even come closeto being tortured. "I was _stabbed_ " he whispered, "I can't forget how much it hurt, how scared I was…I thought I was okay, but when I saw that knife…suddenly I was back there, about to be killed…and when you nudged me, in my head I was getting beaten again…"

*But I wasn't trying to hurt you!* Toothless protested, *The hunters are gone, they can't hurt you anymore. You're safe!*

"I know" Hiccup reassured him, with a half-smile, "I know bud, I just mean…y'know how I've been having nightmares?"

*Yes…*

"Well, it's sort of like I was having a nightmare whilst I was awake."

Toothless still didn't really understand…all he knew for certain was that Hiccup had been frightened, that the blade had frightened him. Unconsciously, he looked at the piece of cloth that hid the knife and snarled.

"Buddy?" asked Hiccup, "What's wrong?"

He blinked and came back to his senses. *Sorry…I don't know why, but…I just got this urge to get rid of the knife. It happened before with the sail…if I didn't know we needed it, I think I might have burned it.*

That was odd, but neither of them could think of why he'd reacted like that. *Are you…okay now?* Toothless asked cautiously.

Hiccup gave him a proper smile and replied, "I'm better…thanks for being here for me, bud. It means a lot."

*Anytime* Toothless purred, his eyes closing blissfully as Hiccup scratched him under the chin. Hiccup sighed and looked over at the cloth. He didn't want to go near it…or rather, he didn't want to go near the knife underneath it. *Do you know why it's there?* Toothless asked suddenly.

"The knife?" guessed Hiccup, "Well, I did say we needed something sharp to cut the sail with."

*Black Fire didn't say they'd left a knife here as well.*

"He probably just forgot; it was pretty hectic last night. It's not as if they knew I'd freak out… _I_ didn't think I'd freak out."

*What do we do now?*

Hiccup took a deep breath. "We start fixing the tail fin" he said determinedly, getting to his feet. He refused to let what Hauke did to him haunt him…besides, Berk was full of swords, daggers and the like (they were Vikings, after all) and it would do no good for him to panic at the sight of sharp objects. It was just like Toothless once said; when you couldn't run from a threat, you had to face it and stare it down until it surrendered, and no longer frightened you.

He started to move towards the piece of cloth, but Toothless stood in the way and tried to nudge him back. *It'll scare you again!* he protested.

"No, it won't" Hiccup promised, "I was caught off guard before, but I know what's coming now. Besides, I need to face my fear…and I wasn't going to pick up the knife just yet, anyway."

*…Oh.*

Hiccup chuckled, and stepped past him. First he picked up the tailfin – or rather, what was left of it – and laid it on the ground in the middle of the cave. Then he picked up the sailcloth – pointedly not looking underneath it – and spread it out over the metal rods. Hiccup hummed thoughtfully; then he snapped his fingers and went to the nearest wall, smearing his hand across it. When he'd gotten his palm caked in glowing algae, he went back to the cloth and traced out lines along it, making an outline to cut out.

Toothless sat and watched him work with fascination and pride. Night Furies were particularly clever, by dragon standards, yet Toothless could admit – if only to himself and his rider – that Hiccup was far more intelligent than him. No dragon would think to use the algae for more than lighting up the cave…even that had been a lucky accident, not planned.

* * *

A shadow falling across the cave floor made them look up and see two dragons, one with milky blue eyes and one with very dark blue eyes, gingerly step into the cave. "Oh, hi, Misty-Onyx" Hiccup smiled at them, beckoning, "Come on in. Can you give us a hand? Err, paw? Help?" he floundered a bit.

*Hello, Toothless-Hiccup* Misty greeted, as she and her mate moved further into the cave, *Yes, we can help…what are you doing?*

"Trying to get Toothless' tail-fin repaired" Hiccup explained as he put the finishing touches on his outline. "Okay…Toothless, can you hold this corner in your mouth, please?" he asked. Toothless grasped the corner of the cloth in his jaws. "Misty, if you take that corner, and Onyx, you take this one…right, now keep holding it and step back" he instructed, when all three dragons were holding a corner of the cloth. They stepped back and the cloth pulled taut, lifting off the ground. "Perfect!"

 _Well, I guess it's now or never…_ Hiccup turned his attention to the knife, lying there, harmless. He crouched beside it and reached out…but pulled his hand back at the last moment, twitching. His throat felt dry and rough as stone. *Is something wrong?* Onyx asked, able to see Hiccup hesitate in picking up the blade. Neither he nor Misty believed Hiccup was going to use it on them – he'd proven to them last night that he wanted to help dragons, and hated to see them hurt.

*He's scared of the blade* Toothless explained, *I think it reminds him about being stabbed.*

"I'm not scared" Hiccup insisted. He whispered again, "I'm not scared…" and reached for the knife once more. _Face your fear, don't let it beat you, don't let them win…_ he took a deep breath, steeled his nerves, and wrapped his fingers around the hilt. He picked up the knife, looked it over…it was in good condition, and sharp enough for what he needed. He tried very hard not to think about exactly how sharp it was.

He took it over to the sailcloth, still held taut by the three dragons. "This might take a while" he said apologetically, "If I cut too fast, it'll snag and get all frayed". He leaned down and dug the point of the knife into the cloth. With care, he sawed through the fibres, running the blade along the inside edge of his algae outline. As he worked, for the sake of making conversation, he said curiously, "So um, if you don't mind me asking, how long have you two been heart bound?"

*Sixty two years* Onyx replied, glancing over at Misty with a loving croon, *and worth every moment.*

"It must have been a pretty big decision to make."

*Oh, I suppose…we actually heart bound because of a similar reason to the two of you* Misty revealed, *We were already mates, and one day, Onyx was badly injured fighting a particularly vicious Fire-Spinner. When I caught up the tables turned, but he was so badly hurt…* she whined a bit at the memory as she explained, *He wouldn't make it back to the nest to be healed in time, and we just couldn't bear the thought of saying goodbye...we've been heart bound ever since.*

Hiccup smiled. "That's so sweet…it's funny, I didn't think there were any other heart bound pairs in the nest" he admitted.

*Oh, there are a few. I suppose no-one mentioned it because it's not a big deal for us…well, it is, but…what I mean is…* She huffed through a mouthful of cloth, frustrated.

Hiccup smiled and assured her, "It's okay, I know what you mean."

She nearly tilted her head curiously before catching herself and asked, *Why did you pull your lips back like that?*

"It's how humans smile; Toothless can do it too. We'll show you later. So, uh, what's it like being heart bound?"

Misty and Onyx glanced at one another. *What is it like to you?* asked Onyx.

A few moments passed before Hiccup answered. "It's…hard to describe, but it's nice. It's like this warm heaviness in my chest. When we became friends, Toothless filled a space I didn't really know was there. I've never thought Toothless would let me down, but now, I _know_ he wouldn't let me down, that he couldn't let me down."

*I feel that too* Toothless agreed, before adding, *Hiccup, the sail?*

Hiccup blinked, realising that he'd stopped cutting the sail. "Huh? Oh, sorry! Guess I got distracted" he muttered, starting again.

*Heart binding is wonderful. You know that you can tell each other anything without judging each other* Misty remarked wistfully.

*Even if it hurts to say or hear, and you argue, you'll always work things out. Eventually you won't even need to say anything, you'll just know how your other half is feeling* Onyx continued, with barely a break in between.

*You won't want to be apart for long, and if you're forced apart, that warmth disappears and it hurts* Misty warned them.

*And you'll fight to reunite as soon as possible, and it feels so wonderful when you do. Heart bound pairs have a really strong instinct to protect each other and be there for each other* Onyx finished.

Hiccup smiled fondly. "I'm definitely seeing what Ekeren meant when he said it seemed like Toothless and I were already heart bound" he remarked as he worked on carefully sawing through the sail. It was taking longer than he'd like, but rushing would make the edges tear and fray, and it would be that much harder to fly with.

*I suppose it is rather like our friendship* Toothless agreed; he and Hiccup were quite inseparable anyway, and would do anything for each other. _You save me, I save you_ defined their relationship. *Only…Hiccup and I aren't exactly normal for a heart bound pair* he pointed out.

*It is strange that the heart bind worked…Hiccup, can humans have magic in them?* Misty asked thoughtfully. Hiccup shrugged and replied, "There are stories about humans with magic…but I always thought that's all they were, just stories. Now I'm not so sure…" he sighed and apologised, "Sorry this is taking so long. I can't mess this up, if I do we're done for."

*Don't worry about it* Misty said kindly, *You saved our lives, this is the least we can do.*

Hiccup still wasn't sure if they'd have really died from the dragon root, but he smiled nonetheless and replied, "You're welcome."

*Is there anything else you'd like to know?* offered Onyx.

"Um, actually, now that I think about it…Toothless said he got this urge to get rid of the sail, and the knife, when he thought they'd upset me. Is that the protective instinct you mentioned?" he wondered.

*Oh, that does happen at first, when you're new to it. You want to get rid of anything bothering your other half* Onyx confirmed. Then Misty chuckled through a mouthful of sail and cheekily remarked, *Remember when you blasted that briar patch to ashes after I got scratched a little bit by the thorns?*

Onyx's ear-fins went back and he groaned in embarrassment. *Misty, dearest, I thought we weren't talking about that.*

*We were talking about heart binding* Toothless reminded them, scratching himself with a hind leg, *and getting bored.*

"Hey! Don't complain, you overgrown lizard" Hiccup mock-scolded, "You know this is important. Or do you want to try flying with a frayed tail-fin? Besides, I'm almost done" he insisted. He just needed to saw along the shortest line; and a good thing too, his arm was getting tired.

*I can't wait until we get it fixed; it'll be so good to get all four paws off the ground again.*

"Tell me about it; I feel loads better, and not being able to fly's been bugging me to no end" Hiccup agreed emphatically.

*Do you two fly a lot, then?* asked Misty.

"Oh, yeah, as much as possible" he smiled, "Sometimes I don't know how I coped before I met Toothless. I know flying is second nature to you guys, but the freedom I feel when we're up there, that never gets old. My girlfriend, desired, Astrid; she sometimes jokes that I prefer dragons to people because I'm secretly a dragon myself". At last, he cut through the last piece of sail, and the triangle of material fell to the ground.

"Thanks for your help, Onyx, Misty" he said gratefully, as the dragons dropped the rest of the cloth and he set the knife aside. "I really appreciate it."

Misty purred at him; she cautiously took a few steps forward and stretched her head forward. Hiccup slowly and gently raised his hand and held it out so Misty could press her snout to his palm. *You're welcome…could we spend the day with you?*

"Of course; the more the merrier" he smiled, scratching her under the chin; like most dragons she loved it and purred. "I'll finish fixing the tail-fin later. Let's go to the gathering place, there's more room there."

They all got to their feet, Hiccup wincing as his limbs protested being made to stand upright. He stumbled as he took a few steps forward, but of course Toothless caught him. "Thanks, buddy" he smiled gratefully.

* * *

Later that evening, after dinner, Hiccup took the stick he'd been roasting the rabbit meat on and began to doodle on the floor of the cave. Toothless was dozing, but soon his curiosity got the better of him and he came over to have a look. Hiccup was making a series of lines in the dirt…he did this a lot, on the thin yellow skins he called 'parchment', but Toothless never understood what they were supposed to be. He tilted his head and circled around to look at it from other directions, but the lines still didn't look like anything he recognised. *What is it…supposed to be?*

"It's our names, our shared name" Hiccup explained, as he scratched out the last few letters. Toothless crooned _confusion._ *How do you draw a name? Names don't _look_ like anything, they're sounds that mean people and things. _Toothless_ means me and not having teeth, and _Hiccup_ means you and that funny clicking noise you make sometimes.*

"I'm not drawing, I'm writing" Hiccup told him.

*What's 'writing'?* Toothless asked curiously. The dragons 'magic translator', as Hiccup had half-jokingly named it, only meant that human speech didn't sound like unintelligible babble to them. It didn't mean they knew what every word meant, unless it was a word the dragons themselves used.

"It's another way humans tell each other things, without having to speak. Each letter makes a different sound, and when you put them together, it makes a word. Look". He pointed the tip of the stick at each letter and spelled it out. "Tuh – ooh – thuh – ul – ess – Hik – kup. Toothless-Hiccup, see?"

Toothless stared at the lines, obviously thinking hard. Then his eyes widened and he exclaimed, with a small yelp of surprise, *You can draw sounds?!*

"I suppose you could see it like that" Hiccup smiled, amused at his dragon's fascination. Toothless scratched in the dirt with his claws, making a series of random criss-crossing lines. He looked so pleased with himself that Hiccup didn't have the heart to tell him he hadn't actually written anything. Of course then he had to ask, *What word is that?*

"It says 'we're friends'". Hiccup really was a bad liar; Toothless picked up on it straightaway and pouted, narrowing his eyes in a sulk. *You're lying.*

"Ah…okay, no, it isn't quite that simple. But you know…maybe I could teach you to read one day" Hiccup mused thoughtfully, "It should only take the next century or so" he added with a teasing grin. Toothless huffed and lay down, sulking, but he didn't protest when Hiccup leaned back against him.

Hours later, Toothless stirred awake and felt like something was wrong. There was no weight against his side…he looked around and purred in relief and amusement when he spotted Hiccup, sprawled on his back and snoring. Toothless' purr dropped in pitch until it became a sad croon, the longer he gazed down at his beloved human.

He was so _young._ Now, because of Toothless, he would stay young for decades, whilst his friends and family would age…Hiccup seemed okay with being heart bound now, but what about five decades from now, or a century, or two? Most dragons didn't think about the future. They didn't see the point. Toothless decided he shouldn't think about it either; he closed his eyes and fell back into an uneasy sleep.

* * *

Toothless was in the middle of Berk's square. This seemed a little odd, but he thought nothing of it. What was stranger, really, was that the square was empty, of humans and dragons alike. Where were they all? Had the Speed-Stingers attacked again?

He sent out a 'looking roar'; the echoes bounced back and built up a picture in his mind. There was nothing moving out there. Feeling uncomfortable, he broke into a run and roared loudly. *Hello?! Is anyone there?! Hiccup, where are you?!*

Surely Hiccup must be here somewhere. This was his home too. Toothless searched his house (Hiccup had explained that's what humans called their wooden cave-nests). No Hiccup. He pushed his way into the Great Hall, the forge, and Astrid's home. Still no Hiccup, or Stoick, or Gobber, or Astrid…he looked over the edge of the cove. It was deserted. The fog that filled the air swirled around him and distorted the sound of his roars, unnerving him.

He looked around the village once more. How he was getting from place to place, he barely knew, and it didn't seem to matter. Then he scented smoke on the wind, and looked towards the sea. He was down at the dock, and there were boats on the water, all on fire. Standing at the edge of the pier, looking out at the conflagrating vessels, there stood a very familiar silhouette.

*Hiccup!* Toothless exclaimed with a joyful, relieved warble. He bounded towards his rider, rambling *I'm so glad I found you! I've been looking for you everywhere, where have you been? Where is everyone? What's going…Hiccup?* His claws scratched the wood as he skidded to a halt. Hiccup hadn't moved; he hadn't even acknowledged Toothless was there. *Hiccup?* Toothless crooned worriedly, stepping forwards more cautiously. *Hiccup, are you okay? What happened? Why are all these ships on fire?*

Still, Hiccup didn't answer, and Toothless started to feel nervous. Was Hiccup still battle haunted? *Hiccup? Please say something* he whined, ear-fins pinned back. He was close enough now to look up at his rider; Hiccup's face was impassive, a cold mask staring out at the horizon.

At last, he spoke. "You did this" he muttered icily.

*I…did what?*

"You did this…to me."

*I…I don't understand. I can't find anyone, I think something's happened to them. We need to find them, Hiccup, they could be in danger*-

"They're dead. All of them."

Toothless' eyes slitted and he yelped in alarm. *Dead?!*

"They all died. My father, Astrid, my family, my friends…they're all gone."

How could that be, what had happened? Had there been an attack? Then Toothless remembered… *You said I did this…but I couldn't have! Hiccup, I would never kill anyone on Berk!* he protested, leaping over to the other pier to look at Hiccup better.

"You didn't kill them" Hiccup told him, much to his relief, but then Hiccup continued, "Time killed them. Time made them age and death took them away, and left me behind…and that. Is. All. Your. Fault" he said bluntly, still refusing to look at Toothless.

The dragon cringed at his tone. *But…but you said you didn't blame me…* he whimpered.

"Well, I do now" Hiccup said cruelly, turning away from him. Toothless' heart began to break. *Hiccup…I had to. I had to save your life…I'm sorry!*

"I don't need your apologies!" his rider shouted suddenly, rounding on him with a glare. "They won't bring everyone back to life. They won't undo what you've done to me. Do you have any _idea_ what you've put me through, you _useless_ reptile?!" he demanded angrily. The usually playful mock-insult felt like the harshest of blows.

*Hiccup…*

"Three hundred years, Toothless! Three hundred years of watching everyone around me age and wither away whilst I stayed young!" Hiccup advanced on him menacingly, and Toothless' claws scraped on the wood as he backed away. "I had to say goodbye to my wife, and my children. I couldn't get close to _anyone_ because I knew they'd be gone when I turned around. But worst of all, I had to live with knowing the one creature I wouldn't outlive, was the same damn creature who forced this torment on me in the first place!"

Toothless yelped as his back paws slipped off the pier, and he scrambled to get his balance back. Hiccup towered over him as he practically flattened himself, whimpering in fear and sadness. *I…I…*

"Is that all you have to say? Typical, as usual you're only thinking of yourself" Hiccup's lips curled in disgust and Toothless whined miserably, protesting *No! Hiccup, please, I never wanted this! I didn't want to hurt you, I just wanted to save your life!*

Hiccup looked out at the burning ships – the funeral ships – and back at the cowering dragon, his eyes hard and cold as stone. "I'd have rather died than suffer like this."

 _What have I done…I did this…I'm a monster…._ Despairing, Toothless closed his eyes and hung his head in shame.

"Can you do me a favour?"

His head raised straightaway. *Yes! Yes, anything* he promised. He'd do anything to earn Hiccup's trust and forgiveness; he couldn't bear the thought of his beloved other half rejecting him….

"When we get to Valhalla" Hiccup began, much to Toothless' confusion, "I want you to spend the eternity _leaving me alone._ I don't want to see or hear you ever again. I _hate_ you" he declared harshly. Toothless' eyes widened, a pained cry emerged from his gaping jaws as his heart broke. Before he could protest, Hiccup suddenly slashed at him with a sword.

Toothless shrieked in fear and leapt backwards, right off the pier. The wood crumbled to ashes beneath his paws and he plunged into the icy depths. Hiccup's blurred silhouette stared down at him for a moment before vanishing. The water became biting flames…he heard Stoick shouting…

" _How could you do this to my son? I trusted you to take care of him and you failed, devil! I hate you!_

And Astrid…

" _We were supposed to grow old together and you ruined that for us! I hate you!_

And further away, Hiccup…?

" _Toothless_ _!_ _Toothless!_ _Toothless!_ _"_

* * *

"Toothless!" Hiccup cried in alarm, having woken from a restless sleep when Toothless began to squirm and thrash. He was still unconscious, but making the most heartrending whimpers and moans Hiccup had ever heard. Skylancer rushed into the cave, teeth bared in the face of a threat…then he saw Toothless writhing and Hiccup looking frantic with worry. Helpless, the young man looked up at the other Night Fury and begged "Help, I, I can't wake him up!"

Skylancer hurried over and bit down on Toothless' nearest ear-fin. The effect was immediate; Toothless sprang to his feet with a roar and streaked across the cave. He hunched down on the other side, eyes wide in fear, cowering.

Hiccup and Skylancer glanced at one another, worried. "Hey, it's okay bud, you're okay. You were just having a bad dream" Hiccup said soothingly, getting to his feet and taking a step towards his dragon. To his utter bewilderment, Toothless whimpered and cringed as if he were scared.

*Sorry about biting you like that – it's the fastest way to wake a dragon, after all* Skylancer said apologetically. He crooned _worry_ and asked *Toothless, are you okay? It was only a nightmare.*

"Uh, it's okay, Skylancer" Hiccup decided, "I'll take care of him."

*Very well…shout if you need anything* the older Fury advised as he turned to leave.

"Will do" Hiccup nodded, before turning back to Toothless. He'd never seen his dragon in such a state, and he now knew how Toothless must have felt when he'd flinched away, lost in his own mind. "It's okay, it's alright. I'm here, buddy. I'm right here" he murmured as he slowly moved towards his best friend. Toothless closed his eyes and curled his tail around himself. *Stay back* he whimpered, and Hiccup pulled up short.

*I'll just hurt you. I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I didn't want this. It's all my fault* he moaned. Hiccup frowned, bewildered and more than a little concerned. "Toothless? What's wrong?" he asked, walking closer and kneeling down. "I don't understand. You're scaring me" he said quietly. Toothless' tail raised slightly and he peeked out at his human. What was Hiccup doing? Shouldn't he want to be as far away as possible from the one who had ruined his life?

Yet here he was, smiling kindly. "Mind if I join you?"

Slowly, Toothless pulled his tail back. Hiccup settled himself at his best friend's side, hugging him and murmuring comforting nonsense. "You must've had some nightmare" he whispered, rubbing soothing circles over Toothless' scales. "You wanna tell me about it? Like Misty said, we can tell each other anything. I'll understand."

There was a long silence. Then Toothless gradually told him about the terrible nightmare. When he'd finished, a few tears were trickling down Hiccup's cheeks. "Oh, _Toothless…_ "

*You should have killed me that day in the woods* Toothless whimpered brokenly, *It would've been better that way.*

"Don't say that, don't you _dare._ Toothless, I don't blame you, and of course I don't hate you. I could never hate you...how you can even imagine…I thought you knew me better" he murmured sadly, dismayed.

*I know* Toothless reassured him, *I know you don't, but I….I'm scared one day you will* he admitted guiltily. That, by far, was what bothered him most about the heart bind…the thought that one day, it would all get too much for Hiccup, and his closest friend in the world would come to despise him. It was harder to believe now, with Hiccup warm against his side and hugging his shoulders.

"I won't. I promise I will never hate you" Hiccup replied immediately, reaching out to pet Toothless' muzzle, "I couldn't even begin to do that. Dragons only heart bind if they love each other enough that they can't live without each other. _We're_ heart bound, against all the odds, so what does that tell you?"

It was true…neither of them could imagine a life without the other, not after everything they'd been through together. *I know it was the only way, but…you'll suffer because of this, because of me.*

"How long have you been feeling like this? Why didn't you tell me?"

*I was trying not to think about it. I didn't want to worry you.*

Hiccup sighed; he could hardly scold, when he'd been doing the same thing. They'd talked about heart binding, but they'd not _talked_ about it. Not with each other. They'd avoided the topic because talking would make it real…but no more. Hiccup shifted onto his back and rested his head against Toothless' shoulder, gazing up at the stalactites on the cave ceiling. After thinking for a while, he began to speak.

"When it started to sink in, what the heart bind meant…a tiny part of me did blame you. And when I realised that, I felt absolutely wretched, because it's not your fault. It was never your fault…it's mine" he confessed. Toothless whined in protest and replied *It's my fault, I'm the one who heart bound to you.*

Turning his head, Hiccup looked down to meet the gaze of Toothless' eye. "It's my fault you even had to make that choice. If I hadn't tried to come here alone, if I'd just pretended to train dragons and stalled until the others came….we would have been rescued, and none of this would have happened. What's worse is I never apologised. I'm so sorry, Toothless. I never meant for this to happen to us."

*Neither did I…Hiccup, I don't blame you* his dragon replied with a reassuring croon.

"I don't blame _you_. What do you say we blame that jerk instead?"

In spite of himself, Toothless gave a brief chuckle. *Works for me.*

Hiccup smiled, but soon grew serious again. He sat up and moved to kneel in front of Toothless, who raised his head and tilted it a bit, inquisitive. "Toothless, buddy, I need you to promise me something."

*Anything.*

"I know this is going to be hard, for both of us. There might be days where it does get too much, and I try to send you away…I need you to promise you will always come back, and if I ever say anything like I did in your nightmare, promise me you'll snap me out of whatever insanity I'm in. I need you. I can't do this without you" Hiccup told him earnestly.

*I promise* Toothless agreed at once, without hesitation. Hiccup smiled and pet him in gratitude, and suggested "Let's try and get back to sleep, eh? It's late." He just barely managed to stifle a yawn.

*Good idea, but…* Toothless fidgeted in embarrassment, *could you maybe…sleep between my wings? Just for tonight.*

Hiccup smiled fondly. "Of course I can" he agreed. He'd slept in Toothless' embrace before, after either of them had nightmares, just for the added reassurance. Whilst Toothless shifted and made himself comfortable, Hiccup tugged off his prosthetic; it was more comfortable to sleep with it off, especially like this. He lay with his back against Toothless' chest, resting his head on a foreleg as the other wrapped over his shoulder and collarbone, and was perfectly comfortable. When the other wing draped itself over him like a leathery blanket, Hiccup sighed in contentment.

He'd almost drifted back to sleep when he heard Toothless say *Hiccup?*

"Yeah, bud?"

*Thank you for being here for me, and for being my best friend. I love you* Toothless crooned, craning down to nuzzle affectionately at Hiccup's outstretched fingers. "You're welcome…and I love you too."

* * *

A/N: Just so it's clear, 'battle haunted' is implying PTSD or possible mental trauma, but Hiccup doesn't have them. It's just the closest frame of reference he has to what happened. Seeing the knife unexpectedly made him flashback to being stabbed and made him have a minor breakdown. Now that he knows about it, he can deal with it.


	12. Finally Flying

Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD

A/N: The songs for this chapter are 'Still I Fly' by Spencer Lee, and 'Take to the Sky' by Owl City.

Chapter Twelve – Finally Flying

Hiccup stirred drowsily, awake but not awake. The warm gentle weight nestled within his chest had spread throughout his body; it was like being wrapped in thick furs on the coldest of winter nights, or being constantly hugged inside. It was a feeling of belonging, of being protected and loved always, unconditionally. It supported him even as it was supported by him, and it seemed to tug him towards the still slumbering black dragon lying warm against his back.

A smile spread across his face as he dozed. In spite of everything, he was enjoying being heart bound. They'd already been so close; Toothless had told him that the other dragons were fond of their riders, even if they didn't always show it, but he and Hiccup were different. They had found each other at a time when they had no-one and nothing, given each other companionship and freedom in equal measure, and seen themselves in the other. _Something_ inside both of them sparked to life when Toothless first dared to press his muzzle to Hiccup's palm, and that fire had been burning bright ever since.

Now, after the veil of _awkward uncomfortable ignore don't-think-about_ between them had fallen away, Hiccup realised how foolish they'd been to not talk about it. Avoiding the subject wouldn't reverse what had happened…but whilst the thought of living for a couple of centuries was still unnerving, the thought of spending all that time with his best friend in the world seemed wonderful. They could get through this, so long as they had each other.

Unbeknownst to Hiccup, Toothless was really awake. He'd stayed very still so as not to disturb his rider, both thinking the other fast asleep. His eyes blinked slowly in contentment, and he briefly arched his spine in a stretch of relief. He was so happy. Hiccup's reassurances that he would never hate Toothless, even if some rare days it seemed like he did, banished the lingering doubt and fear that had been snapping at Toothless since he first began to wonder _what if?_

Hopefully those sadder days were far, far, far in the future, too far to see and not to think about. Toothless found himself purring, and felt Hiccup shift, soft fingers reaching out to stroke his muzzle. His tongue poked out to lick at them affectionately. "Hm, good morning" Hiccup chuckled, as Toothless lifted his paw and his wing and let Hiccup wriggle out from his embrace. He struggled to his feet and stretched whilst Hiccup fit his prosthetic back on and stood and stretched as well.

Skylancer came in at the sound of a mini splash-fight beside the stream. He purred _approval_ at the sight of Toothless laughing at his drenched, spluttering rider. *Someone's feeling better* he remarked with a throaty chuckle of his own.

*Yeah, and starving!* Toothless announced, jaws parted and teeth retracted in a dragonish grin. Hiccup pushed his soaked hair out of his eyes and twisted round to face Skylancer, laughter in his body even as he briefly glared _annoyance_ at Toothless. "Morning, Skylancer. Can you get us some breakfast, please?" he asked politely. With any luck, after today they'd be able to hunt and forage for their own breakfast.

It was only after Skylancer had left to find them something to eat, that Hiccup realised what an odd thing that was to think. If the tail-fin worked, they could go home to Berk. He wasn't going to lie; he missed home. He missed his father and friends, even the ones that sometimes drove him up the wall. He missed sleeping in a bed and being able to have a hot bath. He missed bread.

Still, he'd miss things about this place when they left. He'd miss the kits, definitely; watching them play and seeing their adorable wide eyes as he and Toothless described their daring exploits, or hear them laugh and warble _joy_ at the antics of the Vikings of Berk. He'd miss getting to know Selena, Ekeren, Nocte and Skylancer, Penumbra, Corona and Ikalen, and now Misty-Onyx.

Yesterday things had been different. Many dragons had thanked him for helping them or their mates, siblings, parents, friends. Where before he was often ignored or shot suspicious glances, many Night Furies would briefly purr at him as they passed. The kits, encouraged by Luna's bravery, were more willing to let him pet and scratch them. As for the adults, so far only Selena was willing to give up a bit of her dignity to be petted, but the mothers in the nursery were amused and grateful when Hiccup calmed rowdy youngsters just by scratching the 'sweet spot' under their jaws.

*Hiccup?* Toothless crooned curiously, staring at his rider, who blinked. "Oh, err, sorry. I was miles away" he murmured. Toothless looked puzzled; sometimes he took what Hiccup said rather literally. "I mean, I was thinking, about home" Hiccup explained helpfully. Toothless' croon of _puzzlement_ became one of _understanding,_ and he asked *Do you want to go home?*

"I think when we've got the tail fin fixed and we're sure it's working…yeah, we should head back. Face my father's wrath" Hiccup remarked with a lopsided smirk, only half-joking. Toothless' ear fins lowered and he looked down at his forepaws. "What's wrong?"

Toothless looked up at him, large green eyes filled with anxiety as he asked, *Do you…think he'll be angry with me?*

"My dad's always angry" Hiccup quipped, but when Toothless' eyes narrowed slightly in annoyance he realised this wasn't a time for jokes. "I think he'll be pretty cross with both of us" he admitted, before adding, "But he'll be glad to have us home safe."

*I mean…because of the heart bind. Do you think he'll blame me?* Toothless _really_ didn't like what-if's.

"Don't worry; I'll talk to him. I'll make sure no-one blames you" Hiccup reassured him, reaching out to stroke his nose. "I know how you feel though; I'm not sure how they're gonna take this" he confessed, as he moved to pick up the cut out tail-fin and, after some hesitation, the knife. "They're probably going to find it strange; I mean, Vikings aren't so good at dealing with things they don't understand. Hopefully they won't think I've gone mad and try to ship me off the island – I'm kidding" he said, when Toothless looked alarmed, "Sorry. I probably shouldn't joke about it."

*Do you think they'll treat you differently?* Toothless asked nervously. Hiccup had folded the cloth in half and asked him to pin down one corner of the triangle it formed. With the knife he began to pierce holes along one edge, concentrating even as he spoke. "Probably, but I don't really care what they think. I used to spend my life trying to win their approval, and I ended up getting it by being myself, not what I thought they wanted me to be. Now, I don't really need their approval" he admitted. Still, he hoped his father and friends, and especially Astrid would understand.

"How do dragons deal with it?" he asked as he worked, "Living for centuries, I mean." He'd pierced slits along one side of the cloth, and now began piercing them along the other. Toothless had no idea why, but he was watching in fascination. It took him a moment to realise Hiccup had spoken.

*Oh…we don't really think about it* he replied, not so helpfully. It made sense, though, in a way. Dragons didn't have the same sense of time as humans. Hiccup had asked Toothless when his birthday was; the dragon hadn't even encountered the idea of a birthday because dragons didn't celebrate the exact day when they were born, or even remember it – for them, it was enough that they were born or hatched, and they had other things to worry about. The closest they came was remembering which of the twelve moon-turns between winters they were hatched in.

In Toothless' case, Ekeren confirmed he had been born in the first moon-turn…possibly not too long before the time when Hiccup was born. The young Viking had decided that from now on, they'd celebrate Toothless' birthday forty days before his own, on the 19th of January. Toothless wasn't entirely sure why they _needed_ to celebrate it, but he agreed anyway.

Hiccup wondered what they'd do to pass all the free time they now had. He supposed they'd spend the first few decades on Berk; he was the heir, after all, he'd have to be Chief one day. After that, though, the possibilities would be endless. "You know…I think we've been looking at the heart bind all wrong" he remarked with a small smile.

*What do you mean?*

"I mean, we've both being seeing it as…not a bad thing, exactly, but we haven't been thinking about the benefits."

*What are 'benefits'?*

"The good things about it" Hiccup explained. Toothless looked confused, and a little doubtful. "Oh, come on, obviously there are perks. For one thing, we can have proper conversations. Y'know, at first a lot of the croon and warble and growl sounds you guys made, they all sounded the same – no offence – but now, I can just sort of tell how you're feeling from the sound of them. Now that I can understand dragons, I can judge whether I can tame and befriend them, and the best way to do that.

"For another thing, we have more time now. We could spend decades on Berk, and still be able to leave once we're ready and explore the world. I mean, just think of the dragon kinds we might get to meet, how many new things we could see. If I can bring dragons and humans together on Berk, who's to say we couldn't do it in other places? There'd be so much I could learn and invent, and considering how – well, eventful our lives have been so far, I don't think we'll ever really get bored.

"At first I didn't like the thought that this might change who I am…but that's not gonna happen for a while, and people change all the time. That's just part of life…and yeah, I'll miss everyone when they're gone. I'll be heartbroken…but I'll appreciate the time I do have with them that much more. I don't know what's gonna happen to us, but no-one ever does…and yeah, it's terrifying, but it's…exciting, too."

During this ramble, Hiccup had kept his eyes on his work, but now he looked up at Toothless and saw his best friend's eyes wide with wonder, and heard him purring eagerly. "You and me, buddy" he grinned, "One day, we're gonna be _legends._ "

* * *

*Do legends get hungry?* asked Skylancer; both Hiccup and Toothless jumped, Hiccup fumbling with the knife. "Gah! Don't do that!"

*Sorry* he crooned apologetically, dumping some cod and haddock onto the old breastplate Hiccup had borrowed from Ekeren. Dragons were not natural tool users, but they were natural mimics, and Ekeren had gradually learned to use objects to hold the healing herbs he and many other members of the pack collected. When they got rid of humans, his fellow pack-mates sometimes brought him what remained, so he had a bit of a surplus and was willing to let Hiccup take some of them.

It wasn't long before Hiccup was roasting some fish in a quickly built fire; he'd probably not eat fish for a month after they got back home. Toothless eyed the rest of the fish hungrily; he kept trying to wait until Hiccup was ready to eat, which was touching, but he never managed to fully resist. "Oh, just eat it" Hiccup chuckled, when Toothless began to fidget and whine longingly. Permission granted, the dragon gulped down the fish as if he hadn't eaten in days.

"Didn't Ekeren say that one of the Elders have visions sometimes?" he asked suddenly, thinking aloud.

*Yes, he did. Selena said her name was Cybil* Toothless replied. A moment later, it occurred to him to ask, *Why do you ask?*

"I was just thinking, when we get the tail-fin fixed, we could ask to see her. Maybe she'll have some idea of what might happen to us, or why the heart bind worked."

*I thought you wanted to go home.*

"I do – I didn't mean straightaway" Hiccup rolled his eyes, "We'll still say goodbye to everyone. I mean, I get that I'm not going to earn all the pack's trust…but I think enough of them are coming around by now, that the Queen might let us come back here…so you can visit Selena" he teased.

*What is it with you and having Selena be my mate?* Toothless grumbled sulkily.

"I didn't say anything about her being your mate" Hiccup replied, washing the knife in an old dish full of water Toothless had boiled with a small burst of fire. He used it to slice off the fishy flesh; it was a heck of a lot easier than trying to pick it off with his fingers, which had callouses on their tips from being burned. It was very lucky indeed that Hiccup had managed to cook – or rather, burn his food enough to not be made sick by it. "I don't know why I'm the one who brings it up – shouldn't your instincts be making you want to be her mate?"

Toothless rolled his eyes. *Of course they are. I'd like to be her mate, but we have to go back to Berk, and she'll stay here with her own pack. She ought to have a mate who will actually be able to live here with her…and besides, she doesn't want a mate, and I've managed perfectly well the last sixty years without a mate as well. We dragons don't mate as much as you humans seem to think we do. Now drop the subject, or I will cough fish up on you* he threatened.

"Okay, okay. So what do you think? Should we visit Cybil?"

*I suppose it couldn't hurt* Toothless conceded. Once they'd eaten, Hiccup got right back to work on the fin. It would be a lot easier and faster with a proper needle and thread, but he had to make do. He picked apart the flax that made the sailcloth from the rest of the material, and carefully slid the strands through the slits he'd pierced, crisscrossing them and tugging the cloth taut with Toothless' patient help, and tying them in little knots.

The end result was a crudely stitched sleeve. Hiccup carefully prised the rods of the actual tail apart, and slid the cloth over it. It was a little bit too long, so he folded one side back, pierced more slits and tied it to the tail rod with more flax string. He and Toothless eyed his handiwork critically. "I know, it looks terrible" he sighed, "But it's the best I can do."

*Well, so long as it keeps us in the air, I don't think it matters what it looks like* Toothless pointed out, before eagerly asking, *Can we try it out?*

Hiccup grinned, sharing his enthusiasm, and went to get the rest of the gear. Then the grin slid from his face as a thought occurred to him, and he paused. "Toothless…" he began slowly, turning to face his friend, "I know you like flying with me, and I promise we can still fly together, as much as you want, but….when we get home, I want you to start wearing that other tail I made, the one that lets you fly on your own." He'd retrieved the remains and rebuilt it, just in case anything happened to him, Toothless would still be able to fly. Of course, that was before they heart bound.

Toothless' reaction was almost comical – his jaw and wings dropped, his eyes widening. One didn't need to be an expert in dragon body language to tell he was shocked. *What? But – I – you – why?* he asked, with a bit of a petulant whine.

"I was just thinking, while I was stitching the fin…there have been loads of times where you being able to fly on your own could have really helped us. I know we've made do, but now that we're heart bound, well, we need to think more about our safety" Hiccup explained.

*You're saying we need to be more careful* Toothless deadpanned, his eyelids hooded. *You. The most reckless Viking on Berk.*

"If I try to be a little bit less reckless, will you wear the other tail fin?" Hiccup challenged him. Toothless still looked reluctant. *I told you, I don't want to just carry you. I _want_ you to help me fly, it makes us equals* he explained, with a pleading expression.

Hiccup smiled fondly and approached him, holding Toothless' head in his hands so the dragon had to look at him. "We'll always be equals. I don't need to control your tail fin for that" he said gently, "I am so, so touched you'd rather fly with me than without me…but we're both going to have to make sacrifices. We're responsible for each other now…not that we weren't before, but now, it's – oh, you know what I mean. I want to know you can escape from danger, or even just not plummet straightaway if I end up falling out of the saddle."

Toothless hesitated. It was true, being able to fly on his own would be a benefit, and he now understood that it wouldn't come between them…but then something occurred to him. *I suppose you're right, but there's one problem. I can't do any good tricks with the other tail, and you know how much I like doing tricks, and that's important if we have to fight. And it pinches. And it's heavy. And the clicking is annoying.*

Hiccup sighed; it would be more practical for Toothless to be able to fly on his own, but he didn't want his friend to be uncomfortable. "Okay" he said reluctantly, "If you really don't want to wear it…"

Toothless gave a gummy grin. *I don't! Now can we please test out the fin you made?* he asked impatiently. Hiccup nodded, and reminded him he had to stay still because he looked ready to bounce off the walls in his excitement. He soon had Toothless saddled up– it felt odd wearing the gear again – and was in the saddle, both of them looking at the fin over their shoulders. Now was the moment of truth.

Hiccup brought the fin in. The material creased more than the regular tail fin, but when he let it out again, the material stayed taut. It seemed stable. "This might actually work" Hiccup smiled widely. Footsteps reached their ears, and Selena stepped into the cave. *Hello, are you guys alright? Nocte said you were busy, but I didn't think you'd mind…oh, by the moon, is that your tail fin?* she asked, spotting the new fin. She swiftly padded closer and sniffed at it curiously.

*Yes, it is. Do you like it?* Toothless asked a bit shyly. Selena purred approvingly, even warbled in interested excitement.

*Yes, I do! It looks great. Does it work?*

"We were just about to go and test it out" explained Hiccup, before remembering, "Actually, do you think you could take us to see Cybil? The Elder of Visions?"

*Of course I can* Selena told them, leading the way out of the cave. Once they were in the tunnel, she looked over her shoulder, eyes shining, and said *Follow me, and try to keep up.*

"That sounds like a challenge" Hiccup smirked, letting the tail fin out and bracing himself. Selena laughed, and leapt. Toothless gathered himself, beat his wings hard and leapt – for a split second he feared he'd crash back to the ground, but he _didn't,_ he was airborne and staying there. More wingbeats brought them higher, and they flew through the tunnels at speed he'd almost forgotten he could go.

There were yelps and shouts of surprise from the dragons that occassionally flew past overhead. Selena led them through the wide and twisting tunnels, and Hiccup kept the fin open to stabilise them as Toothless swerved around corners and darted up vertical shafts. He tilted the fin with movements long since ingrained into muscle memory, feeling the way Toothless moved and adjusting accordingly. How in sync would they be, he wondered breathlessly, after ten years together? After fifty, a hundred, two hundred?

* * *

Selena alighted at last, and Toothless dropped down beside her, panting a little but tongue lolling happily. She purred at him and remarked cheerfully, *I guess you managed to keep up with me, then.*

"You bet we did" Hiccup laughed, grinning at her. He looked over his shoulder at the tail fin, and to his relief found it had held steady, the knots good and tight. He hated those hunters with all his being, but he had to admit their shipwright had known what he was doing. His own handiwork wasn't too shabby either, if he said so himself.

Cybil's cave lay behind some jagged stalagmites and stalactites, like sharp and broken fangs embedded in a gaping jaw. It was quite foreboding, and Toothless' ear-fins lowered reflexively. *Don't worry* Selena crooned reassuringly as she told them *I know it looks a bit creepy, but Cybil is good and wise. She's blind, she always has been, but she can see things we can't. Come on in* she invited, padding forth between the stone teeth.

Toothless followed her, Hiccup still on his back. Inside the cave, facing the entrance and apparently asleep, lay a dull scaled female Night Fury. Selena bowed her head submissively. *Greetings, Elder. I bring Toothless-Hiccup, they seek your guidance* she explained, calm and respectful. Selena was normally very familiar with anyone in the nest, not to mention gregarious, so it was interesting to see her show reverence to Cybil.

Hiccup slipped off the saddle as Selena turned to them and explained, *She can hear you. Just ask her what you want to know, and wait for her to answer.* With that, she slunk around them and left them to it. Hiccup and Toothless glanced at one another, shrugged, and moved to kneel and lie before the Elder. Feeling a little foolish, because Cybil really did seem to be fast asleep, Hiccup cleared his throat and asked "Elder, we'd like to know…how is it possible for us to have heart bound? I'm not a dragon."

Cybil didn't answer. Hiccup blinked and Toothless tilted his head, bewildered. *Selena did say she could hear us, right?* he asked. Hiccup nodded slowly. "Maybe she made a mistake?" he suggested hesitantly. It wasn't that he didn't trust Selena, but anyone could make mistakes…very slowly, he reached out a hand towards Cybil…he'd just tap her gently…his fingers were mere centimetres away from her muzzle, when her eyelids snapped open.

He snatched his hand away as if from fire, and ducked his head apologetically. "Sorry – I just, I thought" – his ramble was cut off when Cybil stared at him, through him, with blank white eyes. Her gaze unsettled him, but it seemed to freeze him in place as well.

Dragon's eyes, at first glance, were wholly reptilian. It was only when one bothered to look closer that they could see the emotions inside, and if one held a dragon's gaze for long enough, they could see the age. It was hard to maintain eye contact for that long, and Hiccup had gotten headaches having staring contests with Toothless, who always won because he didn't need to blink as often. Cybil's stare, as white and blank as it was, still carried the weight of her years behind it.

Just as he was about to tear his gaze away, Cybil spoke in a voice that sounded like the whispers of wind through pines. *You _are_ a dragon* she told him, and he gaped, confused. Toothless yelped slightly in bewilderment as well.

"What? I don't, I…I'm human. I mean, I'd like to be a dragon but…I'm not. I don't have magic blood or anything."

Cybil tilted her head and stared at him, and replied insistently, *You _are_ a dragon, inside; you are each other's halves. Your blood matters not; the dragon in you welcomed the magic in _you_ * She turned her gaze to Toothless. *You do not choose your other half, you find them…your other half merely happens to be a human. Unusual, perhaps, but this was meant to be.*

"Do you…are you saying being heart bound is…our destiny?" Hiccup asked unsurely. Cybil looked towards him once more, and calmly replied, *If it were not meant to be, it would not have happened. You are meant for more.*

"I guess that makes sense…" he said slowly. He'd taken to flying with a near-instinctive ease, once he stopped trying to follow a cheat sheet; he had a 'way' with dragons, as Gobber often said, like no-one else on Berk. The idea that on some level, he was a dragon himself, seemed almost logical…and the idea that this dragon spirit within him was the other half of Toothless' soul was even easier to swallow. _I looked at him, and I saw myself…_ Without thinking, Hiccup reached out to pet Toothless, who immediately leaned his head in close.

Toothless asked hopefully, *Elder, is there a chance…Hiccup will still age? I don't care if I age with him.*

Cybil crooned sadly, her ear-fins lowering somewhat. *I do not wish to disappoint you* she told Toothless regretfully, before turning to Hiccup once more. *You will age as a dragon ages…but do not fear. You are stronger than you seem, and you will never be alone now.*

"I know" he smiled, "I'll cope…Elder?" he asked, realising something, "What did you mean, I am meant for more?"

*Both of you* she corrected, *The dragon in you, and the human now in Toothless, will grow stronger. You share gifts…and weaknesses* she warned them, *Not all, but you will learn them in time...* her eyes closed, and she kept speaking. *I sense…a great evil…only you can overcome…further still, a change…an ending…a beginning, perhaps…I cannot tell. What is yet to be shifts always.*

Hiccup nodded in understanding, and replied "Thank you, Elder…we'll leave you in peace now" he decided, carefully getting to his feet and wincing when he put weight on them. He'd gotten pins and needles. Toothless heaved himself to his paws as well, and ducked his head respectfully. *Thank you, Elder.*

*You are welcome* Cybil replied calmly, resting her head on her forepaws once more. Toothless and Hiccup were just about to leave when she added, *Search the scorched place.* Confused, they looked over their shoulders, but Cybil appeared to have fallen fast asleep. They found Selena, Nocte and Dusk waiting for them outside the cave. "Where's Skylancer?" Hiccup asked, noting the absence of a certain sky blue eyed Night Fury.

*I asked him to find our friends. What did she say?* Selena asked curiously, eagerly.

"Well, apparently I'm a dragon" Hiccup deadpanned, "At least on some level…and Toothless and I are soul-mates. She said if the heart bind wasn't meant to happen, it wouldn't have. And there's some evil that only we can stop…and to search the scorched place, which I guess means where the hunters were fought off" he explained, swinging himself into the saddle. "Let's go flying" he grinned.

Selena warbled with excitement as she declared, *Follow me, I know a shortcut!* So they took off once again, and flew up through the tunnels, darting around corners and up shafts, until finally they came to a tunnel that had sunlight streaming down it. Toothless beat his wings hard and launched them both from the confines of the rock; the cold wind stung Hiccup's face and the sun in his eyes nearly blinded him. A yell of delight tore free from his throat as they climbed higher and higher. "YEAH!"

Toothless roared an exhilarated counterpoint as he caught up with Selena, following her lead as she soared. He'd missed flying with Hiccup. _With_ being the operative word…he could understand Hiccup's reasons for wanting to use the other tail-fin, but he hoped he wouldn't have to wear it. It wasn't just that the other tail was uncomfortable and couldn't do as much…there was something about the idea of not needing Hiccup that seemed wrong.

* * *

Selena led them through a mountain pass that no human could climb to, around the side of the volcanic mountain the Night Furies called home. The view was sensational – the sprawling forest of firs and pines, the mountain ranges with their snowy peaks, and the ocean stretching far and wide out to the east. Soon the others had caught up with them, congratulating Hiccup and Toothless for being able to fly again, and many of the other dragons stared in surprise at the sight of them.

They spiralled down to the base of Mount Fury, as Hiccup had taken to calling it. There were many scorch marks on the ground, blackened stumps where trees had been blasted away. *What are we looking for?* Nocte asked Hiccup, who blinked and winced when he realised he didn't know.

"Err…I have no idea, to be honest" he admitted sheepishly, "Cybil didn't say what to look for, she just said to search here…so….just look for anything unusual, I guess" he shrugged, dismounting. So they searched around, finding not much else other than scorch marks and footprints…until Selena came across something shiny and odd looking at the base of a somewhat blackened tree.

*Hiccup?* she called, and he looked over, *I think I found something*. She gingerly picked the metal object up…when Hiccup saw it, his eyes widened, and he strode over as fast as he could. "I don't believe it…thanks, Selena" he said gratefully, reaching out and taking it from her jaws. It didn't appear to be damaged in any way…Hauke must have dropped it during the battle when he retreated. What were the odds?

*You're welcome…what is it?* she asked curiously. It looked like two dragon heads made of metal, back to back. Hiccup grinned at her and held it up. *You remember when I said I had a flaming sword?* he asked, before igniting the blade. It shot up with a plume of flame, and the dragons started (except for Toothless, who was expecting that).

They quickly overcame their surprise and cooed in wonder, watching Hiccup sweep the sword through the air, leaving a trail of fire in its wake. Then the blade collapsed into the hilt; Hiccup deftly flipped it over, and released a cloud of Zippleback gas above his head, igniting it and ducking so it didn't singe his hair. *Pretty!* Selena purred, rearing up to paw playfully at the sparks left behind.

*Can we see?* Misty asked curiously; Hiccup held the hilt out to give her and Onyx a better look. *We've never seen a sword like this before* he remarked, staring at it.

"I got the idea when I needed a way to cut through Death Song amber. Nowadays, I use it to show wild dragons that I'm like them and not a threat…I guess I won't really need to now, if I can talk to them" he mused.

*You should still keep it – it's very clever* Corona remarked encouragingly.

*Humans hardly ever try to be like dragons* Ikalen added, *If this fire sword helps you gain our specie's trust, why not use it?*

*They're right, Hiccup* Toothless insisted, *And besides, you know how aggressive some dragons can be. It'd be nice for you to have a way to defend yourself…besides me, of course.*

"Okay, okay, I get it. I'll keep the sword." Hiccup strapped it to his thigh where it belonged and asked, "So what do you guys want to do next?"

*More of the things you lost might be in the remains of the hunters camp* Dusk suggested, *We could go and*-

"NO!" Hiccup burst out, before clapping a hand over his mouth. Toothless glared at Dusk and firmly stated *I'm not taking Hiccup anywhere near anything to do with those hunters!*

*It was only a suggestion, don't be such a Quick-Sting* Dusk protested irritably, tail lashing. A Quick-Sting was a Speed Stinger, their own name for their kind. Dragons of different kinds could live alongside each other quite happily, but they did have a habit of using each other's kind-names as insults sometimes. Essentially, Dusk had just accused Toothless of being irrationally aggressive and jumping to conclusions, which Quick-Stings were prone to do. Very fast on their feet, not so fast in their thinking.

"Let's just"-

*Don't call him that* Selena hissed _indignation_ and protested *Can you blame him for not wanting to go there after what happened?*

*There are no hunters there now, it wouldn't be dangerous.*

"Err, guys, I"-

*It isn't the danger, it's the memories* Onyx explained, and Misty continued, *Hiccup was frightened by a blade he used to cut the fabric he made into Toothless' tail fin, because it reminded him of being stabbed. Who knows what would happen if he went to _where_ he was stabbed.*

*How was I supposed to know that?* Dusk demanded, eyes narrowed, *If he hadn't got himself caught in the first place*-

*That was not his fault!* Toothless snarled, lunging forwards to deliver a reprimanding bite or claw swipe. A sudden bang made him jump – made them all jump, actually. He looked around to see Hiccup holding Inferno, and looking very unimpressed. "Well, that got your attention" he remarked bluntly, tucking the hilt back into place and folding his arms. "You're forty years older than me, Toothless. So how come _I'm_ the one who isn't acting like a moody fledgling?"

Toothless' eyes briefly widened – then narrowed as he snorted dismissively. "Don't give me that look, mister" Hiccup warned him, "I don't want to go near the hunter's camp either, but Dusk really was only making a suggestion. I know the heart bind is making you over-protective, but you can't just snap at everyone and everything that bothers me. You're not that kind of dragon" he said less sternly, running a hand over Toothless' head.

*…You're right* Toothless admitted sheepishly, looking back at Dusk and (somewhat reluctantly) apologising. *I'm sorry.*

*Likewise* he replied, looking awkward. Hiccup sighed in relief. He had no idea how they could all be decades older than him and still act so much like children. "Okay, now that everyone's stopped growling at everyone, let's go flying" he suggested, getting back in the saddle and fanning out the tail fin. Toothless warbled in delight and leapt, soaring straight up into the sky. The others quickly followed, swerving and banking into formation all around the pair as they levelled out.

*I'm starving* Penumbra declared, *Let's go fishing!*

They all headed out to sea, where many more Night Furies were diving to the water and scooping up mouthfuls of fish. Most of them were fishing just beyond some sea stacks, and a rocky arch…quite similar to the ones that Toothless and Hiccup often flew amongst back home.

"Hey, Toothless" Hiccup began, an idea forming in his head. Toothless glanced back at him and immediately said *No.*

"You don't know what I was going to say!"

*You're thinking. You get this look on your face. I don't know what you're thinking, but it can't be anything good.*

"Gee, thanks for having such faith in me" Hiccup teased, "And if you must know, I was just thinking that those sea stacks look like a good place to see what this tail fin can do."

*So you want to show off.*

"Oh, and you don't? It'll be fine."

*That's what you always say before we crash.*

"We're not gonna crash. Come on, buddy, let's show 'em what we got" Hiccup grinned. In spite of himself, his rider's eagerness was infectious, so Toothless relented. *Fine…but if we hit anything, I'm making you eat a coughed up fish head* he threatened.

"Deal!" declared Hiccup, confident they wouldn't have any collisions.

*What in Moon's name are you two talking about?* Skylancer questioned from his place gliding on their right. By now they were nearly at the sea stacks…Toothless rolled his eyes with an exasperated moan, and replied *You'll see…is it steady?* he asked Hiccup, who looked over his shoulder at the fin. It was billowing a little in the wind, but other than that it wasn't too bad. "It's holding" he confirmed, leaning forwards and putting his weight on the stirrups.

Toothless folded his wings and dived, zooming at a near vertical angle straight towards the surging ocean. At almost the last minute, Hiccup fanned the tail fin out again and pulled up on the handle. Toothless flung his wings out and roared triumphantly as they caught the air, leaving a V-shaped wake as he shot across the surface of the water. "Yes! Come on!" Hiccup cheered, exhilarated, feeling truly free for the first time in over two weeks.

They shot like an arrow towards the sea stacks; and as one, they swerved and barrel rolled past the towers of rock, regaining altitude as they did so. When they emerged from the maze of stone, the arch was right ahead of them. Toothless suddenly realised what Hiccup was planning to do. *Don't you dare!*

"We got this. Steady, Toothless" Hiccup declared, locking the tail fin in place and heaving himself into a crouch on Toothless' back. He stood up and balanced like a modern day surfer, waiting for just the right moment… "Steady, steady…now!"

Toothless ducked under the arch just as Hiccup leapt off his back towards the rock…then it was a hop, skip and a _leap_ back onto the saddle. "YES!" Hiccup punched the air, grinning from ear to ear, as Toothless roared in triumph and relief.

Only it wasn't just him roaring – their friends were roaring, no, _cheering_ for them, and so were many of the other Night Furies. They flew back and landed on the sea stacks; the others alighted around them, warbling and purring happily. *That was amazing!* Selena all but squealed.

*You two are crazy!* Nocte declared; everyone chuckled, much to his annoyance. *Well, it's true…but I have to admit, that was impressive* he told Toothless-Hiccup. The dragon half of the pair puffed his chest out and preened; the human half rolled his eyes, still smiling, and replied "Thanks, Nocte…wait…" Hiccup's brow furrowed slightly as he noticed something. "Your spines…"

*What about them?*

"They're split in half." Sure enough, the spines running down the length of Nocte's back and tail were split into V shapes. "Can you all do that?"

*Of course, it's easy* said Selena, turning slightly and splitting her own spines open, clapping them. *They let us make tighter turns, especially in strong winds* she explained.

Hiccup looked down at Toothless and asked, "Did you know about this?"

Toothless stared at Selena's spines as if they were the most amazing thing he'd ever seen. *No!* he exclaimed, *I…I forgot…let me try!* He arched his back, dislodging Hiccup somewhat. "Whoa! Hang on, let me get off."

Once he no longer had anyone on his back, Toothless arched it, straining his muscles… *Is anything happening?*

"Uh…"

*No, but you look a bit silly* Selena informed him blithely. Toothless huffed and looked over his shoulder. *Why can't I do it?* he complained.

*You're just out of practice* Corona reassured him. Hiccup then inquired, "How are you guys doing it?"

*There's this muscle that we flex on the back of our necks, right between our shoulders* she tried to explain, splitting her own spines to demonstrate. Toothless tensed his shoulders, but nothing happened. Hiccup looked thoughtful. "I wonder…" He reached out and pressed his thumbs against the point just above Toothless' saddle, on the nape of his neck. He pressed a little harder…then something gave, and Toothless' spines broke apart with a series of small pops.

Toothless shook himself vigorously and looked over his shoulder at his newly split spines, a wide gummy smile stretching his mouth. He could feel the muscles on his neck now…he tensed them and the fins clapped together; he warbled in delight. "There, see, there you go" Hiccup smiled broadly, "Your muscles were just stiff, that's all."

Suddenly, he found himself fending off a barrage of eager licks and nuzzles from his extremely grateful other half. "Ah! Eww! Toothless!" he laughed, "That doesn't wash out!"

*Thank you, thank you, thank you!* Toothless warbled happily, tongue lolling, looking at his back spines with an expression of utter glee. He'd always had this nagging sense that he could do more when flying, that the spines were for more than just stabilising his flight. He couldn't wait to test these split spines out. The nightmare and the doubts of yesterday seemed like a distant dream, and in that moment, both halves of Toothless-Hiccup felt incredibly happy.


	13. Accuse, Attack, Absolve

Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD

A/N: The song for this story is 'Army of Angels' by the Script, but that's more of a placeholder, because I can't think of a better one. If anyone thinks of a song that fits better with any scene of this chapter, please let me know ;)

Chapter Thirteen – Accuse, Attack, Absolve

Just as it was in most packs, the Night Furies who made up the Myrkr pack had roles to play. Some defended the nest, some patrolled the territory, others hunted for fish and game, and a few, such as Toothless before he was lost to the throes of the Red Death, were sent out to find places for younger members of the pack to migrate to, so the nest did not become overcrowded.

Bickering was in a dragon's nature, and there was rarely a disagreement that wasn't settled by a few swipes of claws or a burst of flames. Sometimes major fights broke out, when food was scarce or tempers high, and more dragons got swept up in the chaos. One of Selena's duties, as the Queen-to-be, was to patrol the nest and ensure that such fights were not occurring, or if they were, did not become a wildfire (the coincidental draconic equivalent of 'getting out of hand').

She would have really preferred to spend time with Toothless and Hiccup, but she'd gotten into trouble already for shirking her responsibility. Who could blame her, though? Humans fascinated her, and she'd never had a chance to properly meet one. All her life she'd been told humans were dangerous, selfish, violent creatures who would hunt dragons without mercy…but they could talk, they could make things, and surely not _all_ of them hated dragons.

Hiccup had proven, beyond a doubt in her opinion, that humans didn't have to be the enemy. He was the complete opposite of everything she'd ever heard, and after seeing him fly with Toothless, she could see why Cybil had claimed he had a dragon's soul. He'd told them about his human pack, or 'village' back where he came from, and how nearly everyone there was friendly to dragons, and how almost all of them had bonded with and rode their own dragon. She wondered what it would be like to have a rider.

When she thought about how much things had changed, it amazed her. Those first few days, Hiccup had been so jumpy and nervous. He looked like he thought even breathing wrong would set the dragons around him to tear him to shreds. He'd had trouble walking, or even standing for long periods, but looked like he felt guilty about being injured, which didn't make any sense. It was the hunter's fault, not his.

Yet he'd recovered surprisingly quickly. Between Toothless lending him strength through their new bond, and the herbs Ekeren let him use to dull the pain, Hiccup could now walk easily and his awful bruises were almost completely faded. He came out of his shell a lot more around the kits – she _knew_ it had been a good idea to introduce him to them all. She'd been so proud of her baby sister when Luna told her about how she'd touched Hiccup's hand, after he and Toothless had a falling out but then made up.

Not once in the two weeks he'd been there, had Hiccup given them any reason to suspect he meant them harm. Even when he told them about the cure for poisoned arrows that was pretty unpleasant, he'd obviously felt terrible about them suffering more. When they'd first arrived, almost all the nest considered Toothless a traitor and Hiccup a danger or at the least an unwanted irritation. Now, she could tell that the majority of the nest believed him harmless, and the ones who knew him properly were coming around to the idea that humans did not always have to be the enemy.

Such was her confidence in the pack's acceptance of Hiccup that Selena decided to ask her mother something…unconventional. With this thought in mind, she flew to the cave her mother shared with her little sister, the highest cave in the nest. Once their father, Crescent, had lived there with them – until a few decades ago, when he was unfortunately struck by lightning in a freak storm and drowned. She missed him.

She hadn't been sure if her mother would be there, but the Queen was indeed. *Selena, dearest, hello* she greeted with an affectionate purr, padding over to her eldest daughter and giving her a nuzzle. Selena returned both the greeting and friendly head rub, and said, *Mother, may I ask you something?*

*Certainly* Phoebe replied amiably. For all her imperiousness, Selena and Luna had inherited much of their friendly dispositions from her; on the inside she was kind hearted and not quick to judge. Knowing this, Selena went on to explain, *I was just on patrol – no wildfires, by the way – and I started thinking...did you know that Hiccup has fixed Toothless' tail fin?*

*I saw them flying earlier* Phoebe confirmed. Like the rest of the pack, she'd been both surprised and quite impressed at Hiccup's skill controlling the makeshift tail-fin, and how fluidly the pair flew together.

*Aren't they amazing?* Selena praised with a happy warble, before shaking her head and getting back on topic. *So, Hiccup hasn't threatened any of us, and he's even helped us…and he's a good friend to all dragons and Cybil told him he was a dragon inside, I don't think she meant literally though…so, I was thinking…maybe you could make him….an honorary pack member?*

Her request made the Queen start and stare at her in surprise. *Selena, do you even hear yourself?* she asked in disbelief, *The pack may have accepted Hiccup as no threat, but that does not mean they will accept him as a pack member.*

Selena bristled and demanded, *Why not? The Berk pack has…or at least, the defence party that Toothless is a part of has* she protested. True, Toothless had never called the group of five dragons he was a part of a defence party (that was, a small group of dragons dedicated to guarding and defending a nest), but what else could they be? They and their riders defended the island of Berk from attackers, didn't they?

*That is their business* Phoebe replied firmly, *If they wish to consider humans as pack members, then they are welcome to, but I doubt our pack will do the same.*

The glower that Selena levelled at her mother could have rotted bone. *You could at least _ask_ * she remarked scathingly, before spinning around and leaping out of the cave. The Queen listened to her wingbeats echo through the tunnels, and sighed. Selena was still so headstrong, much like her father, but she would have to learn that a Queen could not have everything her own way, lest she become a tyrant.

Yet Selena's words still haunted her, stalking her in the shadows. She had never truly considered the human Hiccup to be a threat. He had been too weakened from his brush with death to harm them at first, and Selena was right – he had done nothing to them in all the time he'd been there. Besides, she could hardly have him killed and risk the death of another Fury, even one no longer of their pack. Even so, she doubted that the pack would be open to the idea of a human being an honorary pack member….would they?

* * *

Elsewhere in the depths of the mountain, a Night Fury drakaina with toxic yellow eyes stalked back and forth, tail lashing and spine arched. Eclipse was furious, and the two drakes she was ranting to made sure to give her a wide berth. *It should have been _easy_ * she hissed angrily, *to turn the pack against him. Am I the only dragon here with any sense?! For centuries we've let no humans discover us, we've lived in peace – but then that fireless weakling shows up, acting like an injured kit crying for their mother, and the Queen lets him walk right in!*

*We cannot question the Queen, Eclipse!* Shadow snarled warningly. The Queen's authority was undisputed – it was the way of dragons. Eclipse's eyes flashed as she rounded on her mate and snapped at him, literally, but harmlessly. He didn't even flinch. *How can you be so calm about this? You hate the human as much as I do!*

Black Fire resisted the urge to roll his eyes and remarked, *I don't see why any of this matters. We saw them flying this morning, remember? Toothless and Hiccup are going to leave soon anyway.* Really, he'd begun to change his mind about Hiccup after the human had told them about the cure for those poisoned arrows. At first, he'd suspected that Hiccup had deliberately tricked them into making things worse…but all the previously downed dragons were perfectly healthy now, and it was hard to believe Hiccup had intended them to suffer. The man was just…too nice.

*Exactly!* Eclipse snarled _frustration_ and glared at her mate's best friend. *A human has seen our nest, and now he's going to go and tell all the humans he knows. Don't tell me he promised not to – that's what humans _do._ They _lie_ * she hissed, returning to stalking back and forth across the cave like a reptilian panther. Wracking her brain, she growled *There _has_ to be something we've missed. I never fail a hunt. Don't just stand there staring, you two. There must be something we can use against the little worm.*

*Like what?* Black Fire demanded incredulously, *He hasn't done _anything_ to us. Maybe you should stop being such a paranoid Spike-Tail, and get over it* he dared to retort. Eclipse snarled with indignation and lunged at him, her claws swiping at his shoulder. Black Fire slashed right back, his retracted teeth snapping out as he snarled. Shadow shouldered them apart, growling angrily, and cried *Knock it off!*

The three of them backed away from each other, bristling. Suddenly, Eclipse's eyes widened and her ear-fins perked up, alert. She looked like she'd spotted game upwind of her and was ready to begin stalking it. *That's it!*

*What are you talking about?* Shadow asked irritably. He preferred Eclipse before the human had turned up and made her begin to plot and scheme. She used to be a lot more fun to be around. Yet another problem he could blame on the brat…

*I just remembered…what did the human do, before you had the brilliant idea to bring him and your traitorous brother to the nest?* Eclipse asked. Shadow hissed at the mention of Midnight, Toothless, whatever he wanted to call himself – and sharply replied, *I don't know, what?*

*He somehow sent a message to other humans with that pesky little Biter, and what happened later? More humans came here. How do we know he didn't tell them about finding us right then and there?*

*He said he wasn't telling them where he was* Black Fire pointed out, recalling Hiccup saying those very words what seemed like a lifetime ago. Even as he said it he began to doubt though…Hiccup had gone alone to talk to the humans who had come looking for him, and none of them knew what he'd said...

*Those dragons and their pet humans still nearly found us, especially the Spike-Tail* Eclipse retorted immediately.

Black Fire shot back *That's because they were tracking Hiccup and Toothless' scents. _We_ might have superior hearing and sight, but other dragons have better senses of smell. Besides, Hiccup convinced them to leave, remember?*

*Leave for how long?*

*Eclipse, do you even hear yourself? You've been acting like a hybrid of a Scale-Shifter and a Spike-Tail for two weeks now* Black Fire argued, *What are you going to do? Follow them back to their own nest and kill everyone there? Wouldn't that defeat the point of staying hidden?*

Still snarling in frustration, Eclipse realised that unfortunately Black Fire was right. Not that she'd admit that. *I hope you're happy* she remarked to Shadow scathingly.

His eyes narrowed, pupils too. *What is that supposed to mean?*

*This is all your fault. If you hadn't insisted on bringing the human to our nest, none of this would have happened. We should have just killed it and all the hunters in the first place.*

*We couldn't! In case you had forgotten, my brother has heart bound to him!*

*Has he?* Eclipse countered, a dangerous spark in her acidic yellow eyes. *He claimed the hunter's alpha stabbed him, but how do we know he wasn't lying? I haven't seen any proof that they're actually heart bound* she declared. Dragons could and did lie, normally when they wanted something for themselves, so it didn't seem too much of a stretch to think that the human and 'Toothless' had lied to gain the Queen's and the pack's favour.

Shadow growled and tensed, not liking the direction the conversation was headed. *Even if you're right, it changes nothing. I will not risk my brother's death, Eclipse!*

His mate rolled her eyes mockingly and countered, *Where was all this concern when he first arrived? You don't care about your brother - just like he doesn't care about you. He's chosen the human over you, and you know it* she said cruelly. *If you don't have the guts to finish this hunt, then I will* she snarled, baring her teeth, a plasma blast humming from her throat.

The threat to the human, and therefore his estranged brother, was clear. With a roar of outrage, Shadow leapt at Eclipse and wrestled with her, keeping her from flying away to find and attack her 'prey'. Black Fire's eyes widened; he rushed out of the cave and took wing, racing to the nearest tunnel out of the nest and rushing to find Toothless-Hiccup. He had to warn them.

* * *

Meanwhile, oblivious to the turmoil that was about to be unleashed upon them, Toothless and Hiccup were having lunch on the shores of Myrkr. Several Terrible Terrors, including little Yellow, flew down to join them. The bigger dragons glared and hunched over the fish they'd caught, snouts wrinkled in silent snarls. *Don't even think about it* Nocte growled at one little reddish Terror who was eyeing his fish speculatively.

*No, no steal* the miniature dragon squeaked innocently…then he made a grab for the food. Nocte snapped at him and he flew away, squawking _indignation._ Hiccup frowned, eating a piece of cooked cod and swallowing it, picking out a bone that got caught in his teeth. "Why're you guys being so mean? They're just hungry" he protested. The little bug eyed Biters made darting grabs at the fish, snatching small ones and gulping them down before the Night Furies could do anything.

Toothless swiped a couple of them away from some fish with his tail and grumbled *They're little thieving pests, is what they are.* The nearest Terror, who just so happened to be Yellow, snarled at Toothless and comically flared his teeny wings. *Not pests! Not thieves!* he protested crossly, ignoring the fact that he and his brethren were indeed snatching away the Night Furies' fish. Toothless fired a tiny blast at fire at Yellow, who spluttered and coughed in the sudden sparks and smoke.

Hiccup elbowed him in the ribs. *Don't be mean* he scolded, before picking up a small fish and whistling to get the little Terror's attention. "Hey. C'mon, it's okay. _I'll_ share with you" he said invitingly. Yellow crept closer, sniffing curiously and warily. *Fish…human? Fish…human…fish!* He nipped the fish from Hiccup's fingers and swallowed it up, before sniffing more at the still attached digits and licking the taste of fish from them. Hiccup laughed as the little forked tongue tickled his fingers, and scratched the yellow Terror under the chin.

"Nicking food is normal for dragons, isn't it? It's all gonna get eaten anyway" he reminded Toothless and the other Swift-Wings. "Honestly. If you lot would just learn to share, you'd all get along a lot better" he rebuked, but teasingly. The Night Furies had already eaten most of their fish anyway, but a few of them let the Terrors have whatever remained without protest, and a sort of peace fell upon the group.

That peace was shattered when another dragon dived from the sky, dodging Skylancer who tried to intercept him, and landed in front of Hiccup and Toothless. "Black Fire?" he asked in bewilderment, recognising the fiery orange-yellow eyes immediately.

*You two need to leave!* Black Fire cried urgently, whining _fear_ and looking desperate. He had to resist the urge to chase them away like he would another dragon, because Toothless would take that as a threat to his human (not that Black Fire could blame him) and retaliate. As it were, they both stared at him in bewilderment, but Toothless with more suspicion in his narrowed-pupil eyes.

"What? Why, w-what's going on?" Hiccup asked immediately. Something had clearly frightened Black Fire and it made them all restless – the Terrors had scattered and the Night Furies were tensing, growls in their throats. Black Fire quickly explained, *Eclipse wants to kill you!*

* _What_!* This cry came from several Furies, Toothless included, who lurched to his feet and began pushing at Hiccup with his large head, urging his rider to get up as well. *We're leaving, we're going to*-

"Whoa- Toothless, hold!" ordered Hiccup; from force of habit, Toothless obeyed and pulled back so Hiccup was standing on his own. "Let's not start panicking" he insisted, despite being unnerved by Black Fire's proclamation, "This might be a – a misunderstanding. Black Fire, are you _sure_ that"-

*I'm positive, Hiccup* the other dragon replied straightaway, *The Queen-to-be is right – Eclipse and Shadow were spreading rumours about you, trying to turn the pack against you, but it was Eclipse's idea* he confessed. He felt ashamed now, for going along with the charade – he hadn't wanted to argue and start fighting with Eclipse _and_ with his best friend.

Misty asked worriedly, *Why does she want to kill Hiccup? He hasn't done anything to her.* Onyx spread a wing over her back comfortingly and added, *Besides, she knows he and Toothless are heart bound.*

*She doesn't believe it* Black Fire revealed, *She thinks you were lying about being stabbed. As for why…I don't know. At first it was for the good of the pack, to keep our secret safe, or at least that was what she said. Then she realised you might have already told humans about us…did you?* he asked Hiccup.

Before his rider could answer, Toothless retorted, *Does that really _matter_ right now?* He was sick of dragons expecting Hiccup to betray them all – for Moon's sake, the escaped hunter's knew about them, and that wasn't Hiccup's fault, whatever Eclipse and those who thought like her might say!

*Where is she now?* Nocte demanded; Skylancer and Dusk were looking up at the sky, scanning it for any sign of an angry drakaina bearing down on them.

*In the nest, fighting with Shadow.*

"Shadow?" asked Hiccup, disbelieving, "Why is she fighting with Shadow?"

*When she threatened to kill you, he started fending her off. He doesn't want to risk Toothless dying with you – because they're brothers* Black Fire explained.

Toothless rolled his eyes, too bitter at his brother's treatment of Hiccup to feel much in the way of gratitude. *Two weeks of avoiding us and suddenly he decides he cares?*

"He's trying to help" Hiccup pointed out, quick to forgive as always. "He still cares about you, bud."

*Then why didn't he bother trying to make amends sooner? He's only doing this for me – if we weren't heart bound he'd let Eclipse kill you without a second thought. What is his Moon be-damned problem?* Toothless snarled, frustrated.

The question wasn't directed at him specifically, but Black Fire still felt he ought to answer. *He's jealous* he revealed. Shadow had told him – well, ranted about – the truth after being pestered for several days.

"Jealous?" Hiccup repeated, bewildered, "Of _me_? Why?"

*He feels like you've replaced him. Shadow has this issue with blaming anything but himself* Black Fire explained, *I think deep down, he blames himself for not looking for you, Toothless, when you disappeared all those years ago – and he's angry that a human helped you when he couldn't – or wouldn't.*

*You're saying he blames Hiccup for helping his brother?* Silver asked, *That doesn't make any sense!*

Skylancer suddenly leapt into the air, startling them all (Penumbra, who was standing nearby, jumped like a cat – it would have been funny had the situation not been so alarming). He was closely followed by Dusk and Nocte, the three of them flying towards a Night Fury diving down on them. As the dragon got nearer, they swerved past Skylancer – and then Dusk suddenly leapt on Nocte in mid-air, distracting both guards. The attacking Swift-Wing charged a plasma blast with the distinctive whistle-shriek.

*SCATTER!* Ikalen roared an alarm call and they all dashed for cover. Hiccup vaulted onto Toothless' back – his head spun at the sudden motion – and they leapt into the air mere moments before a plasma shot blasted the ground where Hiccup had been standing. Alarmed, Hiccup could only hold on tight at first as Toothless beat his wings hard and took them higher. Then he came to his senses, realised what his dragon was doing, and shifted the tail fin in such a way that Toothless had to level out or risk overbalancing.

When they were level and flying roughly parallel to the coast, the rocks and trees skimming past beneath them, Toothless cried *What are you doing?!*

"Don't climb!" Hiccup instructed, hunching low against Toothless' shoulders, "There's no cloud cover, and if she knocks us out of the sky there's more chance of us surviving the fall from this height!"

That made sense – why hadn't he thought of that? – so Toothless didn't try to climb. The sound of a plasma blast being charged made Hiccup look over his shoulder – Eclipse had somehow managed to evade the others and was chasing after them, fanged mouth filled with lavender fire. "Barrel roll!" he cried, clinging on tight and adjusting the tail fin so Toothless could spin out of the way of another shot.

A furious roar prompted Hiccup to look over his shoulder when the spinning stopped. Another Night Fury – he couldn't tell who it was from there - had leapt on Eclipse from the air, trying to knock her out of it. She thrashed, slashing her sharp claws against their vulnerable stomach and twisting them both so her attacker, their defender, fell instead. Hiccup had no idea why Eclipse was suddenly so bent on attacking them now, of all times – but he let the tail fin out to its fullest extent and they sped forwards.

* * *

Nocte had leapt on Eclipse, leaving Skylancer and Ikalen to battle the traitorous Dusk; Misty, Onyx and Silver had rushed back to the nest to find Selena or the Queen. Unable to right himself in time, Nocte crashed into the trees, snapping branches and scoring scratches on his wings. *Are you okay?!* asked Corona, hovering above him. Struggling, he replied *I'll be fine! Go help them!*

Penumbra fired a partly charged blast at Eclipse, trying to knock her out of the sky without hurting her too much. The other drakaina heard the attack coming and swerved to avoid it; the fireball exploded harmlessly in the trees below. With a roar, Penumbra beat her wings harder and caught up with Eclipse, who was still dogging Toothless as he and Hiccup flew as fast as they could. *Why are you doing this?!* she shouted, *You can't kill him! They're heart bound!*

*I don't care! Those traitors have to die!* Eclipse snarled furiously. It was as if she had breathed the maddening scent of dragon root or swam in a lake full of grimora – she had lost her mind!

Corona caught up with her sister just as Eclipse charged another plasma blast. They both roared a warning call and Toothless dove down, flicking his tail fin out of the way mere seconds before the fireball skimmed underneath it. They barrel rolled and flipped over, speeding back the way they'd come. Eclipse roared a _hunting_ roar and made to dive after them, but Penumbra cut her off. *Fire at me, why don't you?!* she growled recklessly.

Eclipse dodged and ignored her. Penumbra charged a plasma blast of her own, only at half power; yet in an attempt to help, and with unfortunate timing, Corona charged a blast of her own and they fired simultaneously into Eclipse's path, each hoping to slow her down or force her to change course. The two plasma blasts collided and exploded together, the shockwave sending both Corona and Penumbra tumbling; but Eclipse had already dived out of the way and was chasing Toothless-Hiccup once more.

They were flying back to the nest because Hiccup had realised that they needed more Night Furies around, to confuse Eclipse and prevent her from getting a clear shot. His plan hadn't gone much farther beyond 'make her run out of shots', once she reached her six-shot limit then she'd be easier to subdue. Part of him was almost impressed with how she was evading everyone and keeping on their tail. He told that part of his mind to shut up and concentrated on not falling out of the saddle.

Toothless was just trying to outfly her; he wasn't impressed at all, merely angry and a little bit frightened. Being chased by a female was supposed to be more enjoyable than _this_. *Where is she?* he asked Hiccup, who briefly glanced over his shoulder and confirmed "Still chasing us."

*Do you even have a plan?!*

"Not really – just keep flying. Wait! No, we need to land!"

*Make up your mind!* Toothless snapped, thwacking him with an ear-fin. Ignoring the sting, Hiccup hastily explained "If we land first she can't knock us out of the sky. We need to keep your tail-fin from getting damaged; it's the only one we've got!"

*Good point!* Toothless conceded; his keen sense of hearing picked up on the distinctive piercing shriek of a charging plasma blast. The longer a blast was charged, the more powerful it was, but it meant that moving targets were more difficult to hit. Eclipse's first two blasts had been easy to evade, because she'd spent so long charging them; but now she'd changed tactics, aiming for his vulnerable fake tail-fin. "Go right!" Hiccup advised in a strangled yell, adjusting the tail fin. Toothless banked hard, swerving out of the way of yet another blast.

There were no breaks in the trees below – no clearings he could drop down into. Instead he flew alongside the mountains, hoping to find somewhere on the slopes to land. Yet the mountainsides were steep, scattered with boulders, and if he landed on them and Eclipse fired at them he'd just have to leap off again. Feeling desperate, he headed for the mountain pass; if he could get to the nest, they could find the Queen and put an end to this madness.

Then everything happened at once. Dusk came swooping in from their left – Toothless _knew_ he was no good! – and Eclipse was close behind them, but they had nowhere to go. They couldn't swerve left without getting attacked by Dusk, they couldn't swerve right without risking crashing into the mountain side because they couldn't even slow down without making themselves even more of a target!

Eclipse knew they had nowhere to go, not with her cousin flanking them, so she charged another plasma blast – yet they heard it coming. Toothless performed a forwards barrel roll – the blast skimmed past him only a foot or so away, far too close for comfort. Eclipse roared – she was down to her last shot and she kept missing! She had to take them down. The human had already betrayed them, she was sure of it, if it weren't for the brat those hunters and the other riders would never have found the nest.

The Queen herself would not punish them, so she had to take matters into her own claws, so to speak, for the good of the pack. If firing directly at her prey wouldn't work, she'd just have to fire at something else. Then she spotted a rather precariously balanced boulder on the cliffs above and ahead of them. If she fired at that, knocked it from its ledge, it would fall on them. She charged her sixth and final blast, aiming not for Toothless' tail fin or Hiccup's back, but the lip on which the boulder perched.

At the sound of the blast charging up, rapidly rising in pitch, Hiccup looked over his shoulder. At first he couldn't tell why Eclipse had craned her head back and to the right– but then she released the blast, and he followed the purple fireball as it skimmed overhead and struck the mountainside. The boulder tumbled down, but they were so close to it… "Come on!" he yelled, crouching as low as he could and letting the tail fin out fully. They surged forwards – just a bit further – would they fly underneath – could they make it?!

A shadow briefly flashed over them, but no heavy rock crashed against their spines and threw them broken from the air. Hiccup couldn't believe their luck, and nearly whooped in delight – but then a pained shriek and a disturbing cracking sound made him look back, just in time to see Eclipse being dragged to the ground by the crashing boulder, and Dusk abandoning his chase of them to fly down to her.

Despite the fact that she'd just tried to kill them, Hiccup's better nature compelled him to pull back on the saddle. "We've gotta go back" he insisted when Toothless kept flying; the black dragon rolled his eyes, but nonetheless back-winged and spun around to fly back to where Eclipse had crashed. Penumbra and Corona caught up with them and landed on either side of them. Eclipse had fallen to the mountain foothills – the boulder had fallen on her wing, and Dusk had blasted it away but the appendage itself was clearly badly broken.

* * *

When she and Dusk spotted the others, they both growled and hackled – or at least Dusk did. Eclipse tried, only to yelp in pain as the movement jostled her broken wing. Hiccup dismounted and quickly offered, "Let me help you."

*Stay back!* she snarled. Dusk charged a plasma blast, as did Toothless, Corona and Penumbra – but before any of them could fire, _Shadow_ of all dragons dived down and pinned Dusk to the ground, struggling to press his jaw closed. Everyone seemed to turn up at once – Ikalen and Black Fire helped restrain Dusk whilst Nocte and Skylancer flanked Eclipse, not that she could get very far. *Shadow, what are you doing?!* she demanded with a furious growl.

He growled right back and declared *I'm saving my brother and his human, what does it look like? And in case you hadn't guessed, I am _not_ going to be your mate anymore.*

*Why did you attack us?* Toothless demanded, still angry – although he did feel grateful towards Shadow, he had to admit at least that much. *I've never done anything to you; Hiccup's never done anything to you!*

*They were going to go home in a day or so – why try to attack them now?* asked Corona.

Eclipse glared at them all and snarled, *Don't you see what this human has done? It's treated you all like common pets!*

"I'm not an 'it'" Hiccup interrupted, losing some of his patience. He dared to take a step or two forward and reached a hand out. "Eclipse, listen. I can try to splint your wing, it'll heal better. You don't have to like me, I just need you to trust me, just this once" he explained.

Eclipse hissed at him. *Why should I trust you? You told us you wouldn't tell anyone about our pack – but how do we know you haven't already? You talked to your pack-mates days ago!*

"You mean when my friends came looking for me? But that – I was telling my friends to stay away!" He looked around at them all, the dragons he'd spent two weeks befriending, and decided to take a risk. "Okay, fine. You want to know the truth? Yes, I told them that I'd found Night Furies. I had to tell them _something,_ and I'm a rubbish liar, they'd have got it out of me , I can't control what every other human does. Killing me and Toothless isn't going to stop more humans coming here; the hunters know about this place as well."

*That's right* Toothless agreed, *and you can't kill every human in the world to keep this one nest hidden.*

The sound of beating wings heralded the return of Silver, Misty-Onyx, Selena and the Queen. *Are you two alright?* Selena asked with a worried croon, landing near Corona on Hiccup's left. He smiled at her and nodded; he was a bit shaken up, but he'd be fine. Queen Phoebe landed and regarded both Dusk and Eclipse with judgement in her gaze. They both cringed, suddenly fearful of retribution; Eclipse flattened herself to the ground and Dusk stayed where he was even when the drakes pinning him down stepped back.

*Eclipse, you have attacked one of our own kind with intent to kill, and with aid from Dusk. Who else was involved in this?* the Queen demanded.

*Nobody, my Queen* Nocte answered, revealing *Shadow attempted to fend Eclipse off, and Black Fire came to warn us of her treachery. Skylancer and I apologise – to you, my Queen, and to Toothless-Hiccup. We were given a task to protect you both, and we failed* he admitted to Hiccup and Toothless.

Of course they didn't blame him or Skylancer. "You tried to defend us, that's the main thing" Hiccup reasoned.

Selena cocked her head and remarked thoughtfully, *You'd have thought Cybil would mention this.*

*Cybil's visions are unpredictable* the Queen reminded them, *As for your punishments – Eclipse, you are no longer part of Shadow's hunting party, and Dusk is no longer part of the nest guard. You are at the bottom of the pack hierarchy now.*

"Your Majesty, Eclipse's wing is broken" Hiccup told her, "But I can splint it with a branch, and some ivy" he offered, gesturing to the heart shaped leaves and vines that clambered up the trees nearby. He looked at Eclipse and told her firmly, "Let me help you, _please._ If your wing isn't properly cared for, you might not fly properly ever again" he warned.

Eclipse's eyes widened in fear at the thought of being grounded… *Why do you even want to help me?* she demanded suspiciously, *I tried to kill you!*

"I get that a lot" he admitted, "I want to help you because that's who I am." By now he'd moved closer to Eclipse and crouched down in front of her, but not so close that she could lunge forwards and bite his hand. His heart seemed to leap into his throat as he cautiously raised a hand towards her muzzle. Eclipse stared at him, warring with herself. She didn't want to have her flying impaired, but she'd held a grudge against humans for too long to want to trust this one, no matter how friendly he tried to be. She'd thought she met friendly humans once before, and lost loved ones in her foolishness.

So she didn't reach out to press her muzzle to his palm, and acknowledge him as trustworthy. Instead she turned her gaze away, defeated, and reluctantly agreed, *Okay. I'll let you fix my wing.*

Hiccup sighed in relief – it was a start. He rose to his feet once more and turned to the Queen, who ducked her head briefly in acknowledgement. *When Eclipse's injury has been seen to, all of you, come to the gathering place* she ordered, before taking wing and leaving them to it. Hiccup walked towards the trees, but then he paused and looked at Shadow. "Thank you, for trying to help us. I know you didn't do it for me, but I appreciate it all the same" he told the drake, who blinked at him in surprise.

*…You're welcome…* Shadow hadn't expected that, and he felt even worse about not trying to make amends sooner. Hiccup smiled, and then looked at Toothless. "Can you talk to him, please?" he requested. Toothless sighed – he should have known Hiccup would want them to reconcile, but he couldn't bring himself to object, so he agreed. Hiccup stroked Toothless' crown briefly as he passed on his way to the trees. Penumbra hurried to fetch herbs from Ekeren that would help dull the pain for Eclipse, who was whimpering.

Toothless led Shadow away from the others. They eyed each other awkwardly for a moment or two, not sure what to say. *You must hate me* Shadow said finally. He sounded resigned.

*I don't hate you* Toothless rolled his eyes. *Black Fire said you were jealous…why? Shadow, I _forgot_ you. That monster made me forget my whole life, and Hiccup gave me a new one, a better one. He didn't know about you…if he did, I just know he would have tried to come to Myrkr sooner.*

Shadow winced. *I should have tried to find you, all those years ago – I shouldn't have just assumed you had died*-

*It's really for the best that you didn't look for me* Toothless interrupted, *If you had, you would have been caught in the Red Death's thrall as well, and I might not have met Hiccup.*

*Please…I do care about you. I was devastated when I thought you'd died* Shadow whined sadly, *We'd lost our father and mother, and then I lost my younger brother…*

Shadow, I came back, and you didn't try to make amends once. You only brought us to the nest so I wouldn't die – admit it, if Hiccup and I hadn't been heart bound – which we _are,_ by the way – you would have killed him, or let Eclipse kill him, wouldn't you?* It wasn't really a question, yet Shadow's guilty expression was all the answer he needed. *If you really care, then why can't you accept that I'm happy living with humans, living with Hiccup? Why can't you just be grateful that he was there for me when you couldn't be?*

His older brother whined regretfully and confessed, *You're right…I shouldn't have been jealous. I should have tried to talk to you sooner, but I thought you didn't want anything to do with me, that you'd chosen him over me. I just couldn't understand how you could have befriended him, after he took away your flight, even if he did spare your life…I know he's saved your life, but I figured he just wanted to keep you instead of letting you go free* he explained.

Toothless calmly revealed, *Hiccup did try to set me free once. He built a tail fin that I could move on my own, so he didn't have to ride me. I broke it. Even then, I knew we weren't meant to be separated…and even if I had left Berk, there's no telling where I would have ended up. I might never have come to Myrkr if Hiccup hadn't wanted to come here first. Shadow, Hiccup and I are soulmates. _That's_ why I befriended him. I look at him…and I see myself.*

Shadow looked back towards the others; to where Hiccup was carefully splinting his ex-mate's wing. He had offered to help her even after she attacked him…and he'd thanked Shadow for trying to help, even though Shadow hadn't helped much at all. He couldn't believe Eclipse had managed to knock him out…he huffed in resignation and looked at his younger brother once more. *I'm sorry, Toothless. I should have been supportive. I don't expect you to forgive me…*

*I forgive you* Toothless told him. If there was one thing he'd learned from Hiccup, it was that holding grudges got one nowhere…it was better to forgive, if not forget, and move on. *Will you please trust Hiccup? You don't have to like him.*

Shadow briefly purred in amusement and remarked, *I think…I'd like to get to know him…when you both come back. You will come back here, won't you?* he asked cautiously. Toothless gave a gummy smile and replied, *Next time we'll bring friends.*

The two of them gave each other a friendly head-butt, and padded back over to the others. Hiccup had finished splinting Eclipse's wing; she was being guided back to the nest by Nocte and Skylancer, whilst Black Fire and Ikalen flanked Dusk. "Are you two okay?" he asked them, petting Toothless when his dragon stepped to his side.

*We're okay. We talked, and worked everything out like you wanted* Toothless said knowingly. Hiccup smiled, and lightly retorted, "Well, I couldn't have my best friend be at odds with his own brother, now could I? I know what it's like to not see eye-to-eye with family."

He looked at Shadow; the older drake swallowed nervously, his ear-fins tilting back. *Hiccup…I'm sorry. I judged you, and I shouldn't have. I'd like to start over…* he admitted, daring to take another few steps forward.

"Apology accepted" Hiccup smiled…he slowly reached a hand out, turned his head aside…the message of _I'll trust you, so please trust me in turn_ could not be clearer. Feeling more than a bit of trepidation, Shadow moved forwards and dared to press his muzzle against Hiccup's palm. It felt odd…but nice.

* * *

All the dragons who could hear the call and fly had gathered together at the command of the Queen. She looked around at her pack, noted that all who could come were present, and looked down at the one incongruent figure in their midst. *Toothless-Hiccup, come forward* she instructed.

Hiccup and his best friend…oh, who was he kidding, Toothless was more like his brother. _Twin brother or older brother?…I suppose it doesn't matter._ He brushed the thought aside as they moved to stand before the Queen, each giving her a respectful bow. *Hiccup Haddock, I gave you sanctuary in this nest as an act of mercy. In all the days you've been here, not once have you given me reason to suspect you meant my pack harm.

*Which is why I have decided to ask all of you...will you accept Toothless-Hiccup as honorary members of our pack?* she questioned, raising her wings. Hiccup's eyes widened in surprise, and he turned to stare at the assembled dragons. Surely they wouldn't…

Selena was the first to speak. *I will* she declared, raising her own wings. Then Shadow raised his, Ekeren, Cybil…all their friends…Black Fire…one by one, almost every dragon raised their wings in agreement. _I did it…_ he thought, amazed, _I really did it. I earned the pack's trust._

*So be it* the Queen declared, *You are hereby honorary members of this pack, and you will be welcome in this nest should you ever choose to return* she told Hiccup and Toothless, who both bowed and replied in unison, "*Thank you, your Majesty.*"

Hiccup added, "I promise, I won't tell anyone about this nest. I'll protect your secret – it's the least I can do, after everything you've done for me. I just want to say, thank you, all of you, for giving me a chance."

*You are welcome* Phoebe replied on the pack's behalf, *And as for keeping our secret…perhaps it has been too long kept. The surviving hunters will no doubt spread the word, and that is hardly your fault. If you wish to tell others of us and you believe them trustworthy…you may do so.* For her to give such permission was surprising, but Hiccup was too taken aback and pleased to question it.

Selena's ear fins perked up and she warbled eagerly, asking *When you go back to Berk, can I come with you?*

* _Selena_ * her mother began, exasperated, but Selena kept going. *I'm not abandoning our pack…but I'm _bored._ I'll only be gone for a few weeks…please, mother* she pleaded, giving Phoebe 'puppy-dog' eyes.

The Queen sighed and briefly nuzzled her headstrong daughter. *Very well…if Hiccup and Toothless agree, then you may accompany them to their own nest* she agreed, somewhat reluctantly. Like any mother, she didn't want Selena to stray into reach of harm…but Selena was not a fledgling anymore, and Phoebe suspected she would have followed the peculiar pair home whether she'd been given permission or not.

Selena looked over the lip of the rock at Toothless and Hiccup. *Can I come?* she asked eagerly. Hiccup smiled widely and nodded. "Yes! That would be amazing" he agreed at once. If Selena came back with them, even for a little while, he wouldn't have to lie and make it seem as if his illicit trip had been for naught. He knew his friends would love to meet her, and he could probably persuade his dad to have another Night Fury in the house…right?

She gave them a gummy smile and leapt down to nuzzle them; Toothless tried very hard to ignore how nice she smelled. He was thankfully distracted when Shadow stepped forward and dared to ask, *May…may I come as well?*

*If you really want to* Toothless told him. Hiccup nodded and added, "We'd be happy to have you along. You don't even have to go near the village – there are plenty of places on Berk that we humans don't get to."

*Thank you…when were you – we - going to leave?*

"Tomorrow morning" Hiccup decided, "It was so great to meet all of you, and I'd love to come back…but we're ready to go home, aren't we, buddy?"

*Yes, we are* Toothless agreed…and then he decided, because he could be somewhat obnoxious, that the best way to 'celebrate' their successful earning of the pack's trust and respect was by coating Hiccup in slobber. "Eww! _Toothless_!" he protested, giggling even as he was knocked to the floor, and the whole pack burst out into croaking, rumbling laughter.


	14. Homeward Bound

Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD

A/N: The song for this chapter is 'Battle Scars' by Paradise Fears.

Chapter Fourteen – Homeward Bound

A swift current swept beneath Toothless' wings as he sped across a wide expanse of creamy froth. Up ahead there was a break in the clouds; Hiccup adjusted the tail fin and they went up and over in a tight loop de loop, diving down through the gap. At what felt like the last minute, with a triumphant roar Toothless flung his wings out once more, slowing their plummeting fall.

His roar mingled with Hiccup's adrenaline fuelled yell of delight; the young man grinned in excitement at the thought of returning home and seeing everyone again. He'd missed them so much. Over two weeks beforehand, he would never have guessed that he'd be here, flying back from the Land of Darkness after one of the most harrowing experiences of his short life – a life which would now be far longer than he'd ever dreamed, thanks to the heart bind that Toothless had used to save him from death.

Now he could understand dragon thought-speak, which was why he heard Shadow perfectly clearly when the other male Night Fury flew alongside them and called *you need to be more careful!*

*You're just jealous that we won the race* Toothless shot back, without even glancing over at his elder brother. He was glad they'd finally made amends, and that Shadow was willing to return with them to Berk (if only for a while) to try and get to know his rider. Selena was coming as well; he couldn't wait to introduce them to the other dragons. It would be a nice change to have other Night Furies around.

*We weren't racing* Shadow grumbled, *and it's _your_ human who said you needed to be careful with that fake tail-fin.*

Hiccup looked over his shoulder at the tail fin, and noticed that some of the strings were starting to pull loose, trailing in the wind. "Oops – no, Shadow's right. Besides, it's not like we're in a rush" he acknowledged, bringing the tail fin in a little so as to slow them down. "Keep an eye out for somewhere to land so I can tighten it up; we've still got a ways to go."

*How about the island right in front of us?* Toothless inquired. Hiccup looked forward and down, and saw the familiar silhouette of an island breaking up the monotony of the ocean. "Perfect; let's head down" he said. As they dropped in altitude, Selena crooned curiously and asked *Is that Berk?*

Hiccup laughed. "Nah, Berk's a lot smaller. This is Shattered Axe Island" he explained.

Toothless snorted. *Too long.*

"Yeah, yeah…I probably should've come up with a shorter name" Hiccup admitted, before explaining, "See, if you go high enough, from the air the island looks sort of like a large axe, only all broken in pieces. I guess they're really islands, plural…oh, whatever" he shrugged. The three dragons landed; they found a stream to drink from whilst Hiccup fixed up the tail-fin. It had held up remarkably well, considering what they'd put it through (darn their thrill-seeking natures), but he planned to burn it once they got home.

They'd already been flying for hours, and they deserved a break. Hiccup was dozing under Toothless' wing, his head pillowed on his arms, when he heard Selena wonder *Do those dragons have humans on their backs?*

He scrambled to his feet and looked up at the sky, shading his eyes against the sun. Squinting, he made out five very familiar silhouettes… _what are they doing out here?_ He wondered, before looking at Selena and Shadow. "They're my friends – you guys hide, I wanna surprise them" he grinned. Selena hid behind a large clump of bushes, Shadow hid behind some boulders, and at Hiccup's request, Toothless fired a plasma blast up into the sky.

Their position given away, it wasn't long before his friends flew down to land in front of them. Hiccup felt a bit of trepidation rise up in his chest as they came in for a landing…Astrid dismounted from Stormfly and walked towards him. Hiccup stepped forward and braced himself. Sure enough, Astrid punched him in the arm. "That's for going away for so long!"

"Ow – yeah, no, I deserved that" he admitted, rubbing his arm.

"Yes, you did" she agreed, before wrapping her arms around his shoulders in a hug – only to almost immediately recoil and cover her nose with her hands. "Eugh, you stink!"

He was well aware of that – just over a fortnight living in caves with dragons that ate raw fish wasn't really conducive to staying squeaky clean. "…To be fair, there are people on Berk who have gone longer without baths" he pointed out a bit awkwardly.

"Yeah, like my uncle Gunther" Tuffnut remarked blithely. The others had dismounted from their own dragons and walked over to join them.

"Hiccup, you need to come home right away" Fishlegs informed him.

"What do you think I'm doing here?" he wondered, "And what's the hurry? Has something happened?"

"Oh, nothing much…" Snotlout said with fake casualness, before bursting out with "Except your dad has gone completely crazy!"

"He's been terrorizing the whole village – it's fun to watch, _not_ so fun to get the brunt of" Tuffnut explained, rubbing his ear at the mere memory of having Stoick yell at him for a minute straight after he …sort of accidentally caused a bit of entertaining chaos by startling a Nadder and setting off a chain reaction that somehow ended with a boat getting sunk. As if reading his mind, Ruff added "Yeah, but the mess you made before he laid into you was _beautiful._ "

"He's mad because of me, isn't he" said Hiccup. It wasn't a question. Astrid nodded and explained, "The only reason he didn't come looking for you sooner is because he had to visit a chief's moot. He even postponed it for a week waiting for you to come home, but when you sent us away again…we might be lucky he didn't accidentally start a war. He's only been back a day – Tuffnut is exaggerating slightly. Your dad has mostly just been yelling at him and Ruffnut."

That wasn't altogether unusual; all the same, Hiccup felt pretty guilty. "I'm sorry" he said contritely, "…I really missed you guys."

"We missed you too" Astrid smiled at him. Snotlout denied that they'd missed him at all – but then, the day that Snotlout openly admitted he'd been concerned about Hiccup's welfare was the day Ragnarok began.

Fishlegs couldn't contain himself any longer. "Was it worth it, though?" he asked Hiccup eagerly, "Did you earn the Night Furies trust? Oh, and don't worry, we haven't told anyone else about them – at least, I haven't" he insisted. Immediately, there were insistences of denial from everyone else.

Hiccup couldn't help the smile that spread over his face. "You could say that…" He looked over his shoulder and added, "It's okay, come on out."

His friends uttered gasps of amazement as a blue eyed, and dark green eyed Night Fury each slunk out of their hiding places. Hiccup gestured to his left and said "I'd like you all to meet Selena", and then to his right, where Shadow had stepped up beside Toothless, "And Shadow."

"Did _you_ name them?" Tuffnut asked in a rather disbelieving tone; Ruff punched him on the shoulder and scoffed, "Of course he did, it's not like they named themselves."

"Uh, heh, anyway" Hiccup said quickly, "We – I mean, Toothless and I – met Selena and Shadow in the mountains. There were these huge old Screaming Death tunnels, they were living in there" he explained. Hiccup knew he was a terrible liar, but there was one type of lying he could handle – lying by omission. He'd tell them the truth; he'd just…leave out certain details. It occurred to him that they might not be able to tell, so he quickly added, "Selena is a female, by the way."

"Female, huh? So are those two a couple?" Snotlout grinned, pointing at Selena and then Shadow. Now feeling even more awkward, Hiccup hastily explained, "No, no, and neither are – Selena isn't interested in – I mean she's not ready to"- he rambled awkwardly before settling on, "They're just friends."

"Err…is it just me, or do Toothless and that other Night Fury kinda look alike?" Ruffnut asked, looking between the two drakes with the expression the twins had when they were thinking – or trying to, at least.

"His name is Shadow" Hiccup reminded her; so much for giving the wary dragon a better opinion of humans; "And yes, they look alike. He's Toothless' brother" he explained without thinking.

* _You shouldn't have told them that_ * Toothless remarked casually. Sure enough, Fishlegs immediately inquired, "Really? That's amazing, how can you tell?"

"Uh – I guessed. Cos, y'know, they look alike – and, well, they recognised each other – or they seemed to" Hiccup rambled awkwardly. Normally he loved answering questions, but right now it was a tad inconvenient. Astrid eyed him suspiciously, well accustomed to all his quirks, and raised an eyebrow. "You're acting weird. Well, weirder" she remarked lightly.

"When don't I?" he retorted, running a hand agitatedly through his hair. He really ought to cut it… "Look, didn't you say we had to get home right away? Before my dad starts an inter-tribal war, or something?"

The reminder of Stoick's building wrath prompted them to remount and take to the air once more. "Uh, Hiccup? What happened to Toothless' tail fin?" Fishlegs asked in concern, noticing that it was black instead of scarlet.

"It got damaged. I had to improvise."

"I don't remember you having a spare black tail-fin…that looks like a piece of sail."

"I don't want to talk about it" he snapped, glaring at the husky young man. Fishlegs promptly clamped his mouth shut and didn't bring it up again. Hiccup sighed, and muttered an apology. His friend muttered "It's fine" in return.

The six – no, eleven of them – flew on in silence. At least, they did until the dragons began talking amongst themselves. Hiccup felt as if he were eavesdropping and had to fight to keep a grin off his face. Selena, vivacious as ever, was the first to initiate conversation. *Hello, I'm Selena – it's Stormfly, isn't it?* she asked the blue and yellow Spike-Tail gliding on her left. Stormfly rolled her eyes to peer at Selena better and chirped a dragon-smile. *Yes…did Toothless tell you about us?* she asked, in a voice that sounded oddly similar to Astrid's, only raspier and slightly higher pitched.

*Oh, yes, he and Hiccup told us all about you and your riders* Selena replied innocently.

*So basically, Hiccup was talking to himself* Hookfang remarked, in a voice similar to Stormfly's but deeper and rougher, *Nothing new there.*

*Don't you like Hiccup?*

*Hiccup is fine…but Toothless must have warned you that all our humans are weird.*

*I might have mentioned that* Toothless said casually. He couldn't resist adding, *You know, Hiccup can hear every word you're saying.*

Hookfang rolled his eyes and retorted *No he can't. Humans are too dumb to understand thought-speak.*

*How many times do we have to tell you, Hookfang?* Stormfly rumbled in annoyance, *Humans aren't dumb, they're just different…but really, no human can hear our thought-speak* she added. Toothless purred _amusement,_ as did Selena and even Shadow. He felt Hiccup pet his shoulder, and glanced back at his rider, who winked at him.

Permission granted; Toothless dropped the revelation on his fellow dragons. *Hiccup can understand thought-speak. I heart bound to him* he said simply. For such a monumental change, it was surprisingly easy (for him, at least) to reveal the news. The others took it much the way he'd expected – small screeches and hisses of shock issued from suddenly gaping jaws, and their oblivious riders petted them in concern and asked what was wrong.

*You what?!* Stormfly asked, amazed and bewildered, *Why? How? That's impossible!*

*If it were impossible, it wouldn't have happened* Toothless replied, recalling Cybil's words. *As for why…I had no choice. We were captured by hunters and their leader stabbed Hiccup in the ribs*, he winced, *He would have died from blood loss if I hadn't heart bound to him* he explained. Hiccup subtly stroked the back of his neck to reassure him. Shadow watched out of the corner of his eye and tried to push aside the small inklings of jealousy that rose up seeing his younger brother being comforted by a human. _These humans are different_ he told himself firmly.

In spite of their initial shock, the other dragons soon offered concern and reassurances of their own, congratulating Toothless-Hiccup on becoming a heart-bound pair. Toothless thanked them all on Hiccup's behalf; Hiccup, meanwhile, hoped that when he finally found the courage to tell the humans he knew what had happened to them, that said humans would be as understanding, one day, as the dragons were.

* * *

At last they arrived at their home, with many dragons milling about on the island and in the village. *Shadow, Selena, welcome to the cold wet heap of rock known as Berk* Toothless bluntly introduced the island, and Hiccup couldn't help but snigger. "What's so funny?" asked Astrid.

"Oh, I'm just glad to be back" he waved her off. They flew around to the other side of the island before diving down and 'sneaking in the back way', so to speak. Astrid went into the Chief's house, and after confirming that Stoick wasn't there, she let Hiccup in through the cellar door. "Get washed" she instructed without preamble, "I'll go find your dad."

She flew off on Stormfly, and soon found Stoick in the village square. When he saw her he scowled fiercely and demanded, "Astrid! Where in Thor's name have you _been_? I'm sick to death of people gallivanting off to Thor knows where without telling"-

"Chief" Astrid cut in, jumping down from the saddle.

"Just cos you have dragons doesn't mean you can disappear off the face of the earth and"-

" _Chief_ " Astrid repeated, more insistently, one hand scratching Stormfly to keep her dragon calm in the face of the angry, shouting Viking right in front of them.

" _What?!_ "

She only needed to say two words, for Stoick's anger to dissipate like smoke. "He's home."

* * *

After thoroughly scrubbing off the accumulated grime of his stay in the Night Fury's nest, and changing into clean clothes (which felt wonderful), Hiccup emerged from his house…and almost immediately felt déjà vu. The entire village, or so it seemed, was waiting outside for him…and in the centre, right in front of him, was his father. Stoick stared at him as if he were a ghost – the older man bore the tell-tale signs of sleepless nights, and Hiccup felt guilt twist at his stomach. "H-hi, dad" he said quietly. Stoick said nothing.

Very carefully, he walked down the steps leading down from the front door. Toothless followed a few paces behind, ready to catch him if he stumbled. Shadow and Selena were hiding in the shadows at the side of the house. When he reached more level ground, Stoick began to walk towards him. Hiccup froze as if rooted to the spot and babbled. "I am so, _so_ sorry. I, I shouldn't have left, I was stupid, a-and selfish and I get it if you're mad, you should be, I am _so sorry_ that I worried you so much and why aren't you saying anything?"

Stoick hadn't said a word, he'd merely drank the sight of his returned son in…and now, when they were only a foot or so apart, he reached out and dragged Hiccup into a crushing hug. Luckily, Hiccup had seen it coming and braced himself, hugging his father back as tightly as he could as well. "I missed you" he admitted plaintively, voice muffled somewhat by Stoick's considerably bushy beard.

"I missed you too, son. Don't _ever_ scare me like that again" Stoick replied, releasing his hold a little so his son could actually breathe. He held Hiccup a moment longer, before letting go and resting an arm around his shoulders. "Well, for the first time in weeks we have something to celebrate!" he announced cheerfully to the assembled villagers, "My son has come home!"

The villagers cheered, the dragons roared – Hiccup blushed. He hadn't thought they'd all miss him this much. He held his hands up for silence, and admitted, "Uh, we kinda brought a couple of friends with us…" He nodded to Toothless, who looked over his shoulder and said *Come on and say hello.*

Everyone gasped in surprise as not one, but _two_ other Night Furies padded out from the shadows of the Chief's house. Hiccup stepped away from his father and introduced them. "Her name is Selena, and his name is Shadow" he explained, gesturing to each in turn, "And I know Shadow and Toothless look similar, I think they might be brothers or something…I mean, let's just assume they are. Now, they're really not used to humans" he warned, "And they are wild, not like our dragons, so just…just keep that in mind, okay?"

"Aye, son, whatever you say" Stoick agreed; the other villagers nodded hastily when he glared at them warningly. Gobber gestured to Toothless' tail-fin and remarked, "I see ye had a bit o' trouble with that nice red fin, eh?"

"Oh, yeah…" Hiccup rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "I had to improvise…think you can help me build another one?"

Gobber gave him a crooked grin and replied, "Aye, of course I can. Welcome home, lad."

* * *

Stoick threw a feast that night, to celebrate Hiccup and Toothless' safe return. Hiccup was plied with cakes even as everyone asked him what he'd been up to. He told them an edited version of events – that Toothless' tail fin had been damaged and his belongings stolen by hunters, and after escaping them he and Toothless encountered Shadow and Selena in the mountains and he spent time earning their trust slowly the way he'd earned Toothless' trust when they first met. All of which was true, he just left out the part about being stabbed and the rest of the Night Fury pack.

Selena was happy to meet the other dragons and even the humans, especially the children. Shadow was more wary, sticking to the edges and eventually slipping out to look around the wilder parts of the island. Selena went to find him, whilst Hiccup and Toothless went home with his father. In the main room of the house, Stoick cleared his throat. Hiccup turned to face him, and saw that his father now looked every bit a stern chieftain.

"I'm glad that you're home safe" Stoick began, "You and Toothless…but that does not excuse what you did" he admonished, brow furrowing. "You disobeyed my order. You put yourself and your dragon in unnecessary danger, and if you hadn't found those two Night Furies it all would have been for nothing. I'd ask you what in Odin's name you were thinking, but it's obvious you weren't thinking at all!"

Hiccup was well aware of all this, and cringed. "I'm sorry, dad…I know I messed up", he took a deep breath, sighed and added, "I suppose you're going to punish me."

"Yes, I am. You're grounded" Stoick declared firmly. Hiccup blinked, thinking he'd misheard.

"Uh…that's it? Just grounded?"

"I mean, you're _grounded._ As in, confined to the ground, for a month" Stoick explained. At the news that he'd have to spend yet more time not flying, Hiccup's jaw dropped in dismay. "What? But"-

"No buts! You worried me _sick,_ Hiccup!" Stoick thundered, "I think I was very generous to give you an entire _week_ to come to your senses, but then your friends came home without you, and Astrid told me you'd decided to stay out there, in the wilderness! If I hadn't had to attend the Althing so that I didn't offend the other chiefs and risk a war, I would have flown out to Myrkr and dragged you both back here myself. I'll have to find a way to get a message to Johann – the poor man was beside himself with worry, blaming himself for _your_ stupidity!"

"I get it!" Hiccup burst out, guilty and frustrated, "I screwed up! I didn't get the nickname Hiccup the Useless for nothing" he said bitterly, angry with himself for causing so much trouble and with his father for pouring salt on that metaphorical wound.

Stoick sighed; he felt bad about shouting at his son, but the boy needed to hear that. "You're not useless, Hiccup" he said, in a gentler tone, "Just…"

"Stupid?" Hiccup finished for him. He sighed heavily. "I really am sorry. I was just…I was running away. I don't really know why, and I know I could have come home sooner but…I felt like I needed to stay. I can't explain it, really…but it was important to me."

In the silence that followed, Toothless nuzzled Hiccup's arm comfortingly and remarked, *I don't mind not flying for a few more weeks.* It actually bothered him a bit, but he'd put up with it for Hiccup's sake. Hiccup stroked his head, before silently pulling off the sailcloth tail fin. A quick burst of fire from Toothless lit the grate, and Hiccup wordlessly tossed the fabric into the flames.

"Uh…you didn't have to go _that_ far" Stoick said uncertainly. He'd been intending to confiscate the tail fin, yes, but he hadn't expected Hiccup to burn it. Hiccup shrugged, and turned to head upstairs to his room. "Goodnight, dad" he murmured.

"…Goodnight, son" Stoick replied after a moment.


	15. The Truth Revealed

Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD

Chapter Fifteen – The Truth Revealed

Shadow and Selena landed beside a lake they found in the middle of the forest, and drank from it. Selena raised her head, licking her lips, and looked around at the rocky walls that surrounded the lake. She thought she recognised the place. *I think this is the cove Toothless told us about, where he made friends with Hiccup* she told Shadow. The beating of wings heralded the arrival of another dragon, as did a familiar voice saying *You're right, it is.*

His brother and the Queen-to-be looked to where Toothless had dropped down to the shores of the lake, and they both noticed a distinct absence in his presence. *Where's Hiccup?* Selena asked immediately, crooning _worried-concerned._ Heart bound pairs were rarely seen apart – there were stories amongst hunters of captured dragons screeching madly when they were separated, and mysteriously dying when another was taken away and slain. Of course, the humans never understood why this was so, and it never occurred to them to stop.

To see Toothless without Hiccup seemed wrong – the two were so inseparable. Even Shadow was perturbed, bristling uneasily at an unseen, imagined threat. *I thought you couldn't fly on your own* he protested. In answer, Toothless drew his tail around and displayed a dark brown tail fin, that moved with his living one. *I can fly on my own with this* he explained, *and Hiccup…Hiccup's fine* he added, even as he shrugged _doubt._

*Why isn't he with you?*

*He's with his father…he was grounded, as punishment for leaving home without permission. He said I should wear this so I wouldn't have to be grounded as well. I didn't really want to, but he insisted* Toothless explained. He could probably get used to the weight and the pinching, and it did feel pleasant enough to have the sometimes cumbersome harness off, but he'd be glad when Hiccup could fly with him again. *He wanted to spend time with his dad so…I thought I'd come and find you two* he added.

*This island is lovely* Selena purred, *Small, but lovely…and the dragons are friendly, and the humans as well. Shadow let one of their hatchlings pet him!* she revealed with a gummy smile. Shadow squirmed and looked away, embarrassed. Toothless chuckled at his brother's amusing discomfort. *You weren't scared of the little human hatchling, then?* he asked teasingly, before adding to Selena, *Humans call their hatchlings 'babies', and their fledglings 'kids', by the way.*

Selena hummed _understanding,_ and glanced at Shadow. *Can I talk to Toothless alone, please?* she asked. Out of habit, Shadow ducked his head submissively and replied, *Of course.* He turned away, spread his wings and leapt, flying off to give the two a bit of privacy. When he was gone, a confused Toothless asked *Is something wrong?*

*No. I just wanted to tell…to ask you something* she explained, sitting down. Toothless sat down opposite her. Selena ducked her head and glanced shyly at him, coiling her tail around herself. *I know I said that I didn't want a mate* she began, *but then I started to realise, if I did want a mate…I'd want a kind, loyal drake who liked me for me and not because I'm the Queen-to-be…a drake like _you._ *

Toothless' eyes widened. The small part of his brain that wasn't panicking and resisting the yearning to say *yes* couldn't help but think _Hiccup was right…why am I not surprised?_

*I know it's sudden, and I would have asked you sooner…but would you like to be my mate?* Selena asked hopefully. Toothless stared at her, his jaws parted slightly in shock. He closed his eyes tightly and gathered himself.

*I…Selena, I'm flattered, and I…I do like you, I am attracted to you* he confessed, *but I can't be your mate. I'm sorry.*

She gave a small whine of disappointment, mixed with a rumble of resignation. *Is it because of Hiccup?* she asked, not enviously.

*Yes. We're heart bound now; I have to put him first. If we were mates, if I was with you when he was in trouble…I don't want to have to choose between you and Hiccup* Toothless explained.

Selena understood. *We can still be friends though, right?*

*Of course* Toothless purred at her; she got to her feet and padded up to nuzzle him briefly. *I'd better go… * he said awkwardly, pulling away before he could lose self-control. He'd get over it – he'd spent twenty years thinking there were no other Night Furies but him, and it hadn't really bothered him then…he just wished it wasn't bothering him so much now.

* * *

Stoick looked up when Hiccup stepped back into the house, after seeing Toothless off. He'd somehow convinced the dragon to wear that spare auto-tail, and Stoick imagined that Toothless had gone off to spend time with his own kind. To think, there were other Night Furies… "Why the long face?" he asked, noticing his son's less than cheerful expression.

Hiccup started and blinked, as if he'd forgotten his father was there. "Oh…nothing" he shrugged it off.

"Is this about being grounded? I know you love flying, but this is for your own good" –

"No, no it's not that. I know I deserve this…" Hiccup sat down opposite his father and fidgeted, twiddling his thumbs nervously. "Dad…can I ask you something?"

"What is it, son?"

"When I was…well, I had a lot of time to think, y'know, about the future and what I'm going to do, so I…I want to…" the last part came out as a mumble.

"Speak up, Hiccup".

He swallowed hard and said aloud, "I think I ought to…to start training. To…to be Chief, I mean." He finally glanced up to meet Stoick's eyes, and found that his father was staring at him incredulously.

"You want to train to be chief?" Stoick repeated in disbelief, "Right, who are you, and what have you done with my son?"

"What? _Dad_! I'm serious!"

Stoick chuckled, his chest heaving. "Oh, I'm only teasing! Can you really blame me for being surprised? Why, you've _never_ shown an interest in being Chief before…why the sudden change?"

"Like I said, I've had time to think, and…well, you're not gonna be around forever, I'm gonna have to be Chief one day whether I like it or not…I can't run from the future, right?"

"Aye, that's right" Stoick agreed, "But I have to say…you don't sound too enthusiastic. Do you actually want to do this, or are you just trying to get back on my good side?"

"What? No. I just…okay, yeah, I'm not _thrilled_ about the idea. I mean, compared to finding new dragons and exploring and all that, chief training always seemed kind of…well, boring. Err, no offence" he added hastily, when Stoick raised an eyebrow.

"…None taken."

"Yeah…and besides, I never showed an interest before because…well, I never thought I'd be _good_ at it. It's one thing to lead my friends on missions, but all the speeches and planning and running the village – that's _your_ thing, dad, not mine. You're one of the greatest chiefs we've ever had, how…how was I supposed to think I could live up to that? To you?" asked Hiccup, and he sighed, "I know that I'm not like you, and I never really knew mum…what does that make me?"

Stoick stared at his son, who was looking at the table as if he wished the floor would swallow him up. He was good at being a Chief…not so good at being a father, admittedly, but he was trying his best. He reached out and lifted Hiccup's chin so their eyes met. "In the last five years, you've ended the war, brought peace to Berk, and helped defend us from our enemies. Live up to _me_? You accomplished more when you were fifteen in one afternoon than I did in twenty five years of chief-ing. I'm the one who needs to live up to _you._ Only you set the bar very high."

Hiccup blinked, surprised and touched by his father's sincerity. His mouth quirked into a smile… "Sky high?" he joked.

"Yes, ha, ha" Stoick rolled his eyes, "My point is, you've proven yourself, son. You have the makings of a great chief, just like me…the inability to do as you're told, and the obsession with dragons, that's from your mother."

"Wait – mum liked dragons? She wasn't scared of them?"

"Why do you think she made you a dragon toy? She kept saying there had to be another way…" They both looked wistful for a few moments. Stoick cleared his throat, putting the memories to the back of his mind, and said "I'd be happy to train you. It'll help keep you busy."

"Thanks…um, but we wouldn't be training all the time, right?"

"Hiccup…"

"No, I, I'm not trying to get out of it…but do you really want me and Toothless underfoot all the time?"

"Fine – four days a week, and that's final" Stoick said firmly. Hiccup nodded in agreement, so Stoick offered him a handshake. Instead, Hiccup got to his feet and walked around to his father's side of the table, and hugged him. Taken aback, Stoick nevertheless returned the embrace.

Then he heard Hiccup say something that the two of them rarely told each other, at least not out loud. "I love you, dad."

"…I love you too, son."

* * *

The next couple of weeks went by surprisingly quickly. Hiccup was kept busy with chief training, which really just involved helping his father with duties that...well, they could be dull, but he found he didn't mind. It was a chance to spend more time with his dad, and given his...new situation, that was more important than ever. When he wasn't training, he'd spend time with Astrid or Gobber...and most of all with Toothless and the other dragons.

News of their heart bind had spread fast. The dragons were surprised, but they accepted it very quickly. Hiccup received plenty of congratulatory nuzzles, much to the bewilderment of everyone else. They assumed the fire breathing reptiles were just happy to see their 'favourite human', as Gobber jokingly put it, back home safe and sound. Hiccup didn't tell anyone the real reason. He wasn't quite ready for the fallout yet, but he knew he'd have to come clean eventually, and probably sooner than later.

He really put an effort into his decision to start chief training...until finally, the month was up, and Stoick declared he was no longer grounded. Delighted, Hiccup and Toothless rushed home, swapped the auto-tail for the brand new red tail-fin, and taken to the air together. They performed a few tricks in the air above the village, to the delight of the onlookers; especially when Selena and Shadow came seemingly out of nowhere to join them.

The three Night Furies raced each other out to sea. Stoick caught up with them, and then Astrid and the others. Hiccup got the feeling they were all making sure he wasn't flying off again. Still, it was nice spending time with everyone - watching Astrid and Stormfly practise tricks, then Snotlout and Hookfang try to one up them. Hearing Fishlegs gush over how amazing it was to have other Night Furies around, and then feel embarrassed on their behalf when Tuffnut tactlessly suggested trying to get them to breed.

Everything was fine...until Snotlout called out, "Hey, guys! Check out those creepy looking ships down there!"

They all looked where he was pointing. A fleet of six ships were sailing South-East, towards Berk...and Hiccup felt a chill run down his spine at the sight of them. _No_...he thought desperately, _It can't be – there can't be_ more _of them…_

"I'm gonna go check it out. Come on, Hookfang!" Hiccup actually hoped that Hookfang would decide not to listen to his rider, as was his wont...but the Monstrous Nightmare did dive towards the ships, and the others followed to make sure Snotlout didn't do something stupid, like attack it head on. Toothless couldn't pull away from the group in time, and had to fly down with them. His pupils narrowed in fear and he bared his teeth in anger at the sight of those black sail with the blood red crossed bones.

Fishlegs pulled out a spyglass and peered through it, spotting the cages and winches. "They're hunter's ships" he declared, with an uncharacteristic edge to his voice.

"Hang on; Hiccup, didn't you say there were hunters in Myrkr? Hiccup?" asked Astrid, looking at her boyfriend in concern. Hiccup was shaking, staring at the ship far below them in horror, his face pale. His breathing became fast and ragged. Toothless snarled at the ship far below, as did Shadow and Selena.

"Hiccup? What's the matter?" asked Stoick, picking up on his son's distress. Hiccup shut his eyes tightly and shook his head. "No...no, not again..."

Toothless had had enough. He flipped his tail down, beat his wings hard and flew upwards. Let the others deal with the hunters - he just wanted to get home so he could comfort Hiccup and make his little brother feel safe again. Shadow and Selena followed the pair, leaving the others behind. "What was all that about?" Fishlegs wondered.

"Who cares?" Snotlout said dismissively, "All I know is that we gotta go kick some dragon hunters; butts! Snotfang, Snotfang, oi, oi, oi!" he bellowed as Hookfang roared and charged. *Don't just fly right at them, you idiot!* Stormfly screeched at him as she dived down after them. The others followed suit, with varying degrees of reluctance. They had fought off hunters before; they should be able to manage, even without Hiccup.

They had to dodge the usual barrages of dragon-root arrows, nets and chains…but these hunters didn't let up even when their ships were being set alight, splashing buckets of seawater on the flames. The dragons had to dodge the traps and each other; Meatlug and Hookfang were brought down when the heavy Gronckle couldn't swerve out of the Nightmare's way quickly enough. Still, Stormfly managed to free many of the dragons trapped in cages on deck, who cried out in gratitude as they took off and flew away.

Then Skull Crusher was snagged by hooked chains that dug painfully into his scales. He bellowed, and Stoick followed suit. "Fire chains at _my_ dragon, will ya!" he demanded furiously, throwing the chains off and pulling on Skull Crusher's reins, bringing the dragon to face his assailants. "FIRE!" he thundered. Skullcrusher was more than happy to oblige, spitting a gout of scorching flame at the operators of the catapult, forcing them to retreat.

"Atta boy! Get me in close!" Stoick ordered, leaping from Skull Crusher's back before his dragon swerved away. He had his battle-axe with him, never left home without it, and he knocked out one hunter with the flat of the blade. A man of his stature, with a neat full black beard and a crimson cape, strode forward, sword in hand. Clearly this was the hunter's leader, judging by the way the rest scuttled aside at his approach.

"Dragon riders attacking dragon hunters…how foolish are you?" Hauke scoffed at Stoick, whose eyes narrowed.

"I don't care who ye are, I want you out of my waters and away from our dragons, now!"

"Your waters?" repeated Hauke, "Ah, of course. You must be Stoick the Vast…my condolences for your loss."

"I have no idea what you're talking about. Now are we just going to stand here chatting, or are we going to fight?"

"A chief should give another chief proper acknowledgement, should they not?" Hauke countered, "And how can you not know? Or did you not realise your son was dead?"

Stoick stared at him. Hiccup, dead? That made no sense! "Do you talk nonsense all the time? My son is alive; he's back on Berk right now!" At least, that was where Stoick assumed he was.

Hauke laughed cruelly. "Are you this deluded all the time?" he asked mockingly, "Your son is Hiccup Haddock, correct? I know he's dead – I drove the blade into his ribs myself."

If the boast was meant to shock and demoralise, it did the opposite. The man before him had tried to kill his son – Stoick roared furiously and lunged at Hauke, battle-axe swinging. Hauke blocked him, and the two men began a fierce duel…which was cut short, unexpectedly, by a whistling shriek and a familiar yell from another hunter – " _Night Furies! Get down!"_

* * *

Toothless and Hiccup flew as fast as they could back towards Berk. Shadow and Selena followed him, albeit for different reasons. *How did they follow us?* Shadow demanded as he caught up and kept pace with his brother. He was fleeing because he didn't want to be seen, at least not clearly, by the humans on the ships. It was unnerving enough to have the 'friendly' humans on the island see him.

*They can't have followed _us_ * Toothless retorted, unconsciously snarling in anger. Panicking, Hiccup rambled "It's my fault, they have my maps, they found Berk, they're coming for _me,_ they"- Toothless slapped his cheek with the twitch of an ear fin and insisted, *Snap out of it!*

*Why are we flying away?* asked Selena; she had only gone to follow the two drakes. *Shouldn't we be helping?*

*They can handle it!* Toothless snapped, *I am _not_ taking Hiccup near those wretches!*

Hiccup wanted to agree, wanted to believe his friends and father could handle the hunters…but he hadn't wanted them or their dragons to fall into the hunters' hands…and they were the most skilled and powerful dragon-rider team in the group…from somewhere behind him, he heard a distant roar. Toothless' ear-fins twitched erect, recognising the roar. "Who was that?"

*…Skull Crusher* Toothless replied after a moment.

"Dad…" Hiccup screwed his eyes shut, clenched his jaw and battled with his fear. _When you can't run, you face it._ "I cannot believe I'm doing this" he muttered, opening his eyes and pulling back on the saddle. "Go back! Toothless, go back!"

*Are you crazy? I just said*-

" _Please_ " Hiccup begged. His father needed his help – their friends needed their help. With a small roar of frustration, Toothless slowed to a hover, twisted round and shot back the way he had come. *Curse my inability to say 'no' to you!*

*Come on, Shadow!* cried Selena, flying off after them. Shadow stared at the pair in incredulous disbelief, then shook himself and followed. _I am definitely going to regret this_ he thought with certainty.

They reached the ships once more and dived, all three dragons charging up plasma blasts simultaneously. Toothless scanned the ships and quickly picked out his first target – the lead vessel, on the deck of which two men were fighting – Stoick and Hauke. They both stopped in mid-duel to stare at the dive-bombing Night Furies. Hauke couldn't believe his eyes – how could the boy be alive?

Such was his shock, that even with the ample time to resume attacking Stoick or get out of the way, he was knocked back by the force of the plasma blast. It demolished the bow of the ship, sending the _Dark Tide_ lurching backwards. Stoick had anticipated the blast and managed to stay standing even on the pitching deck. He stomped over to kick Hauke's sword aside, but the man grabbed it and the two resumed their duel.

Now with three Night Furies helping to take out the hunter's artillery, the hunters found themselves at the disadvantage. Through it all Stoick and Hauke kept fighting, evenly matched in strength and prowess. Yet the deck of a ship was a treacherous place to duel. A misplaced footstep sent Stoick tumbling back, tripping over coils of rope, his battle axe knocked from his hands.

Hauke stood over him, sword raised, a murderous gleam in his eyes. The sword swung down – Stoick grabbed the arm holding it and shoved back with all his might. Then both men were sent sprawling, in opposite directions, by a roaring black mass. Groaning, Stoick lifted his head in time to see Toothless pinning Hauke to the deck, his jaws flooding with plasma. He was shocked at the expression on Hiccup's face, as his son made no move to stop Toothless from firing. It was pure hate, unmoved even by Hauke's cowardly pleas to be spared.

The Night Fury's gaping fangs and glowing jaws were the last thing Hauke ever saw. Toothless panted…Hiccup closed his eyes, then opened them and looked at his father. He looked relieved, and a little regretful. Without a word, they took to the air, and flew away from the battle towards Berk.

With their leader dead, the rest of the hunters abandoned ship, and the riders made short work of freeing the trapped dragons. Soon, every dragon was free and many of the hunters had been forced to flee from their sinking vessels in rowboats, flamed and roared after. Riders and dragons alike celebrated the successful defending of their territory…except for Stoick, who knew that he needed to talk to his son, and soon.

* * *

That night, he invited Gobber to his house, and told his old friend what he knew, which wasn't much. Hiccup had eaten dinner in his room and refused to come out…until now, and the men looked up in concern as he descended the stairs. "I need to tell you something" he murmured, "And I need you both to promise me something. Well, three things."

Stoick and Gobber shared a glance. "Which are?" asked Gobber.

"Let me finish before you say anything, don't tell anyone else about this just yet…and please, whatever you do, don't get mad at Toothless. This isn't his fault" Hiccup insisted. Confused, his father and mentor nevertheless agreed.

Hiccup took a deep breath, and told them everything. How he'd been beaten and stabbed, pulling up his tunic to show them the scar. How Toothless had saved his life, against all the odds, by binding their life forces together. How the heart bind meant he would outlive everyone currently on Berk.

There was a long silence when he'd finished. At last Gobber said uncertainly, "Blimey…" _This is gonna give whole new meaning to chanting 'long live the chief' at his coronation_ the blacksmith thought, stunned.

Stoick got to his feet, and turned towards Toothless, who had stood patiently out of the way whilst Hiccup explained it all. Immediately, Hiccup stepped between them and protested, "No – dad, it isn't his fault, it's mine, be mad at me but please don't"-

"Hush" Stoick nudged his son aside with ease, "I need to say this." He walked right up to Toothless, who audibly gulped and looked up at him nervously. To the dragon's surprise, Stoick reached out and placed a hand on his muzzle. "Thank you, for saving my son; and I want you to take good care of him when we're all gone" he said, kindly and firmly.

Toothless hesitated, and then nodded – proving to Stoick that his son was right, the dragon really could understand what he was saying. Or at least the gist of it…keeping one hand on Toothless' head, he looked at Hiccup and silently beckoned him closer. His son stepped forward without hesitation and hugged him tightly, Toothless pressing his head against both of them. Of course, things got a little awkward when Gobber tried to join the group hug…but then they burst out laughing.

* * *

He had told his father, and Gobber…the next person to tell, without a doubt, was Astrid. This was going to be difficult. Unlike his father, whom he would have outlived regardless (one hoped), he and Astrid were the same age. They should have grown old together…Hiccup really didn't know how she would take the news. He invited her to the cove for a picnic, letting their dragons go off and play whilst they ate beside the lake.

She knew something was up; Astrid confronted him with her usual directness. Hiccup plucked up the courage to come clean…when he'd finished, there followed an uncomfortable silence as everything sank in. Finally, without looking at him, Astrid said quietly, "So…you're not ageing."

"Sort of…it's more that I'm ageing really slowly. Slower than any other human" he explained.

She looked torn. "I guess…we're not…I guess this is it, huh?"

"It?" repeated Hiccup, dismayed.

"Yeah…I mean, I don't want to, but – we can't – we have to break up" she said quietly, refusing to look at him.

"No, we don't" Hiccup insisted, reaching out to cup her cheek and bring her to face him. "Astrid, please, don't shut me out. I need you, I – I can't do this on my own" he pleaded with her.

"You have Toothless – he's the one who"-

"No! I told you, this isn't his fault, it's mine. Blame me, blame Hauke, but please don't blame him. Astrid, you _know_ Toothless, you know he'd never do something like this unless he had no other choice. He did it to save me. He loves me."

" _I_ love you" Astrid whispered, tears starting to well in her eyes. Hiccup brushed them away from the corners of her eyes with surprising tenderness and murmured, "I love you too. Astrid, we can make this work. I know it'll be hard, for both of us, but I – I can't just give up on us that easily."

Her hand raised to hold his against her cheek. "What if you had to choose between us? You'd have to choose Toothless to save your own life" she pointed out. Hiccup closed his eyes…he didn't want to think about that.

"…Who would you want me to choose? If I could only save one of you, if there wasn't time to save both…Astrid, if you wanted me to, I'd die to save you. Toothless would understand – we've talked about it, he'd understand. I know our lives are dangerous…I might not even outlive you at all. You might outlive me" he pointed out.

"Don't say that…if that ever happens, if you have to choose…" Astrid closed her eyes, struggling with her decision, and finally said, "Save Toothless. I'd rather die knowing you were safe, than live knowing I was the reason you and Toothless passed on."

Now tears were filling Hiccup's eyes as well. "We'll figure it out. I love you, Astrid, I really do. I'll _always_ love you" he told her earnestly.

"Even when I'm old and wrinkly as Gothi?" she asked, only half-joking. Hiccup chuckled and nodded, agreeing "Even then." He pulled her into a kiss, which quickly grew more passionate. The two young lovers were oblivious to the fact that the dragons had stopped their tug-of-war and play-fighting to stare at the humans who were apparently trying to eat each other's mouths.

*Are they going to mate?* Selena asked curiously. Shadow spat in disgust and took off. Stormfly clucked a quiet dragon laugh and replied *I don't think so*. Eventually, the humans stopped kissing and waved their dragons over, petting snouts and mounting up. Hiccup couldn't stop a smile spreading across his face as he and Toothless soared over Berk. The two most important people in his life knew about the heart bind and they were willing to understand, willing to support him, and they didn't blame his best friend.

Neither Hiccup nor Toothless had any idea what the future held…but they couldn't wait to find out.

* * *

A/N: The credits song for 'Heart Bound' is _Brave Souls_ by Cozi Zuehlsdorff :)

The full playlist for 'Heart Bound' can be found here: h-t-t-p : / / www .youtube playlist? list=PLVLF82 mB38dl GBpB2joT cLLhkiYxH6aXp


End file.
